


Ethereal

by ahprodithe



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M, Slow Burn, Soft Mikaelson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-19
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-01-16 17:04:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 30,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18525856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahprodithe/pseuds/ahprodithe
Summary: "believing in love doesn't make you a fool, it makes you human."





	1. prologue

Innocent is the word that would describe Skye Mikaelson the best. Or even the word harmless or fragile. That's all what people would see in her anyway. Since she was young people always felt the need to protect her, to shield her from the wrongs in the world. They didn't want a soul so pure to be tainted.

So when she turned into a demon of the night, everything changed.

Her first kill was a simple one, a young boy strolling through the nearby woods. Skye had been exploring the world with her newfound gift, what she would later realize was a curse, when she caught sight of him. He couldn't be much older than her.

She was curious of what he was doing there. Not many people went out into the woods, afraid of the powerful and cruel beasts that lived nearby. She wouldn't even be out in the woods herself, wasn't it for the newfound strength and immortality she was blessed with by her mother.

She was just picking flowers for her mother and father, when she had seen the boy looking quite lost. Skye didn't think he could do her any harm, especially not with her promising strength, so she approached the boy, who whirled around when he heard a twig snap behind him.

He looked scared and pale and only now she saw he was bleeding. His clothes were soaked with it, his hair was stained red and there were bite marks visible all over his body.

When she was about to open her mouth, the smell hit her like a slap to the face. It was alluring, and she felt something stir inside of her.

The boy who had softened his panicked gaze when he had seen the girl, went even paler than before, after seeing the look on her porcelain face. He had also thought this girl couldn't do him any harm, with her blonde wavy hair and her white dress.

She had looked more like an angel than a demon.

He couldn't be more wrong.

The moment the smell of fresh blood hit her, black veins appeared under her eyes and the white in her eyes turned red. The sweet smile that she first wore turned into one of pure yearning.

Before he could react, she jumped on him, teeth sinking into his neck, sucking out the warm thick blood that stilled the hunger that had risen when she had smelled the liquid. The boy withered and screamed in her grip, but the girl was far gone.

The life flooded out of the boy, and once his eyes became glazed over she let go.

Blood stained her once crisp dress and fresh blood coated her mouth. When her breathing had calmed and her eyes had turned back to normal, she took in the sight in front of her.

Then she screamed. She was horrified with what she had done. She was scared of herself, the demon inside of her.

Her legs had given out underneath her and she fell to the ground, a sobbing mess.

The one who cherished life with all her heart had taken the life away of someone else.

Skye couldn't look away from the death body lying in front of her, heartfelt tears streaming down her cheeks and she didn't even try to contain her sobs. They were heart wrenching, and it was painful to listen to her.

After what seemed like an eternity, she got up. Her expression didn't hint at any devastation. Skye had mastered the art of pretending to be fine. She had become numb, and the only thought on her mind was going back to her family, letting them tell her she was okay, that all of this wasn't real.

* * *

 

The moment Skye walked into camp, Rebekah, her sister, noticed. They had been looking all over for her, and they had been afraid something bad had happened. Her sister threw a few words over her shoulder, directed at the little cottage she was standing in front of, before dashing off towards Skye.

Rebekah stopped a short distance away from her, taking in the sight of her sister.

Her face paled and her hands flew up to her mouth.

Niklaus and Elijah, two of her brothers, came running towards them followed by her other brothers Kol and Finn. Just like Rebekah, they stilled when they took sight of the fragile girl in front of them. Under the gazes of her brothers and sister she broke down once again.

Her whole body started shaking, and her legs turned in to mush, but before she hit the ground she felt two strong arms wrap around her.

Skye turned around and buried her head in her brothers chest. The familiar scent of Niklaus calmed her. He rocked her back and forth, comforting her until they were broken apart by her father.

But that moment had changed her. She felt even more bonded with her family than she ever had before, and she knew a bit of her innocence was ripped away from her.

Later they found out that the immortality and strength came with a price.

The sun that gave them life burned them, their thirst was insatiable, and their neighbors could close their homes to them.

Vervain flowers that grew at the base of the white oak tree burned them and protected against compulsion. The white oak tree, which gave them immortality, could also destroy them.

The people had turned scared, afraid of the monsters that lived in their village, around their children.

Terrified that the people would turn against them, they burned the White Oak, the only thing that could harm them.

That day they made a promise, "Always and Forever."

* * *

 

After years of being together, Niklaus became more dominant. He was mad at his mother for putting a curse on him, suppressing his werewolf side.

Their father never had been a fan of Niklaus, and now they knew why. Niklaus was a bastard. It didn't make Skye love him any less. He was still her brother.

Their mother, a powerful witch that had put the spell on them, was supposedly killed by their father after she had cursed Niklaus. They ran, scared that their father would come for them next.

Kol and Finn went their separate ways after several years, while the other four of them stayed together.

Niklaus and the others still tried to shield Skye from the real world, but she knew it was no use. She was still fragile and innocent, but she had a demon inside of her that was ripping her apart. She hadn't killed anymore since that boy in the woods, but that image was still vividly on her mind.

She would wake up deep in the night screaming and shaking. That made her siblings even more protective over her.

But Niklaus was heavily searching for a way to break the spell. Speaking with witches and even werewolves. They had long since found out that they could make other vampires if they fed them their blood and kill them, but Skye had never done anything like that. She wouldn't want anyone to have this curse.

Along the way Nik had found out that there were special silver daggers that you could dip in the ash that was left of the White Oak, and that those could kill an Original, what they were called by most. It wasn't permanent, the dagger had to stay in the body to actually work, but it was a threat.

Niklaus horded all of them and often threatened to use them on his siblings whenever they stepped out of line. Niklaus couldn't be harmed with them, because his werewolf side could not be harmed by silver.

Never would they have expected that Niklaus would keep his promise of daggering them. No, the time he held to his promise wasn't because someone went against him, he daggered one to protect.

Over the years they'd gotten enemies, and Niklaus feared for his youngest sister safety. So he daggered her. Putting her in a coffin to rot. Elijah and Rebekah were furious, but they didn't stand a chance against Niklaus.

That is how Skye Mikaelson had been in a coffin for more than nine hundred years.

But now she was back.


	2. i'll tell you how to burn

Four coffins were scattered around the place, dark wooden exteriors fitting perfectly into the room, except for one.

There was one that was as white as snow, the smell of withered roses seeping through the cracks. The coffin was decorated with pure gold, and a big iron lock closed the coffin from any unwelcome visitors.

With enhanced strength you could easily break it. They hadn't been able to. It was like it was locked with a spell, just like another coffin they had in found.

They were all curious of who was in that exact coffin, and why Klaus was so protective about that person.

That there were two other brothers and a sister was known. Finn, Kol and Rebekah Mikaelson were in those coffins.

They were told about that, but they never mentioned any other living siblings, and their father and mother were dead.

But now, the time had come for them to know.

* * *

 

'Who's in the white coffin?' Damon Salvatore immediately asked when they made their way into the room. He had been dying to ask that question the second he had seen the casket.

Elijah couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh, 'A person that Niklaus would never throw into the ocean."

Niklaus always had been overprotective of her. They all were. And the only reason she was daggered in the first place was because he had wanted to protect her.

Niklaus had known she would never have stood against him. He often saw her as the only sibling he could really trust.

That's why Elijah knew that he would never do anything to harm her. He just hadn't been certain about the rest of his family.

'What's that supposed to mean? Who is it? Family? Friend? His long-lost love?' Damon joked.

He didn't get why Elijah had to be so secretive, he would see the person in a minute anyway.

They were moving from coffin to coffin, undaggering the siblings. Elijah had waited for this moment for centuries, to finally have his family be reunited again.

They came to a stop in front of the white casket, both unsure of what to do. Elijah had been told about the spell, but he still wanted to try.

Elijah hesitantly reached out to the lock, fingers curling around it.

Just as he was about to rip it open, Damon's hand shot out and stopped him. Elijah raised his eyebrow in an unimpressed manner.

Damon could only roll his eyes at him.

'Who's in there? Answer first,' he demanded.

Elijah would have been entertained wasn't it for the fact that the longer they took, the more suspicious Klaus would become.

'Someone very dear to us,' Elijah answered finally, 'a sister, actually.'

Damon's eyebrows shot up in surprise. 'Really? I thought Barbie was the only one,' he countered.

Elijah pressed his lips together in a firm line, 'Niklaus has had her daggered for a very long time. She was the first to be daggered. You didn't know about her because Niklaus is extremely protective of her. He didn't want anyone to know.'

With that he ripped the lock to pieces. It landed on the floor with a thud. So apparently the lock was only to be opened by family. How fitting.

Elijah took a deep breath and gripped the latch, slowly opening the coffin. Damon was looking over his shoulder, wanting to see this mystery girl. What he saw was a shock.

In the coffin was a girl. Her skin was pale but fair, her honey blonde locks spread around the cushion like a crown. Her eyes were closed lightly, giving you a good view of her short blonde lashes.

The dress she wore had wide ivory sleeves with golden details, and the corset was made of a silky white satin. Some sort of pattern was laced into the dress, and over the white dress, a deep green layer was draped. All with all, she looked beautiful.

Because of her looks you could almost overlook the silver dagger plunged deep in her stilled heart. But it was there.

It didn't seem in contrast with the innocent vibe she radiated, but knowing a bit about the Originals, she probably was just as cruel.

At least that was what Damon thought, but he didn't know her like Elijah did.

Elijah knew she was pure and truly innocent, always wanting the best for people and seeing the good in every living soul. She had longed to be loved and held.

He could clearly remember how his younger sister had felt when she had killed that boy. She had been devastated, and she hadn't had a good night sleep since. He hoped that would change with the new times.

He heard Damon whistle beside him, and if Elijah wasn't so transfixed on staring at his sister, he would have strangled the man.

'She's a beauty,' Damon couldn't help but remark, eyes glued to the girl.

Elijah just responded by gripping the dagger and pulling it out of her chest with one swift movement.

All of his siblings were undaggered, and Elijah couldn't help but feel thrilled about that.

* * *

 

The first thing she noticed when she slowly regained consciousness were voices. Her eyes were still latched close, but the voices were clear as day.

Her mind was hazy, and she wondered where she was, why she felt like she was squeezed inside of something, and why her eyes were closed. Of course, she could open them, but quite frankly, she felt relaxed. And she hadn't been relaxed in a very long time.

So she just listened. She couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but she knew who the voices belonged to.

It were her siblings.

That's when she decided to open her eyes.

Light flooded her vision, and she had to blink a few times to let her eyes adjust. She was now aware that she was in a coffin, and that the room she was laying in definitely wasn't one she could remember.

Slowly she lifted her leg out of the coffin, followed by the other. Her legs were dangling over the edge, and she jumped to the ground. Her legs were a bit wobbly by being not used for a long time. And somehow she knew she had been asleep for a long time.

The memory of Nik daggering her came fresh to mind and she had to bite back a scowl. She shouldn't be mad at him, he was only trying to protect her, but it still hurt her that he actually did that to her.

She took one step forward and then another. She spun on her heels, looking through the room. She spotted the three other coffins, and this time a scowl did appear on her face. Apparently she hadn't been the only one to be daggered.

She started moving towards the voices. Slowly, she peeked her head through the door and was met with an empty hallway. Making her way through the hallway, she stopped in front of a wooden door.

Like magic, two young men came out of the room. One with raven black hair and menacing blue eyes. The other with golden brown hair and forest green eyes. She couldn't help but stare at them. They both were fairly handsome.

They stared at her too, just as fascinated.

She studied them curiously through her lashes, wondering who they were. She noticed that the clothes were really off and that's how she knew for sure that many years had went by.

After a few moments of silence, she heard steps coming from the room and a voice began to ask, 'What is it?' when Elijah appeared.

She tilted her head to the side and stared into the wide eyes of her older brother. She wanted to hug him, but she knew it wasn't polite to not introduce herself to the two young men first.

So, once again she faced them and gave them a small smile, 'I'm Skye Mikaelson,' she said politely.

Both of them opened their mouth, but nothing came out. She frowned at them and when she realized they weren't going to say anything, she walked over to Elijah.

He was still staring at her, but his eyes had softened and a small smile was tugging at his lips. Her grin widened and she threw her arms around him. To her it wasn't that long ago since she had last seen him, but she was sure it had been years for him.

'Elijah,' she breathed in his chest. Elijah softly stroked her hair and when they stepped away from each other she noticed the two men had left.

She peeked beside Elijah and saw the faces of her siblings. She pushed herself past her brother, who was too slow in grabbing her arm, and she stormed into the room.

All their eyes were now on her, shocked to see her after all these years. They hadn't really paid attention to her casket because they just assumed she would still be daggered.

Elijah stepped in behind her and spoke, 'What, Niklaus? You would really think I would undagger all of our siblings, but keep her daggered?'

Her head shot from Elijah to Nik, who was still staring at her, and she noticed that Kol was holding him back.

She took the smallest step forward and then looked at Kol.

'Could you release him for a moment?' she asked gently.

Kol looked apprehensive by that, but once he made sure that Nik wasn't going to run, he let go of his arms.

They all looked at what Skye would do, and then she lunged herself into Nik's arms.

Yes, she was mad at him for daggering her siblings, but she couldn't hold a grudge for long. She loved him.

Nik froze when he felt her arms around him, but then hesitantly wrapped his arms around her in return. They stood like this for a little while until Skye broke away, and took a few steps back towards Rebekah.

'What's going on?' she asked the question she had been dying to ask since the moment she awoke.

After staring at her for a little bit longer, Rebekah went to move on with her dialogue.

'I love what you have done to the place, Nik,' she said sarcastically, which followed by her picking up a crystal vase and throwing it against a painting on the other side of the room.

Skye cringed at that but stood her ground, wondering how the situation would unfold.

Niklaus looked down, muttering something that she could barely hear, 'I wanted it to be for all of us. A place we could all call home. A place where we could all be a family.'

Tears were visible in his eyes and Skye had the urge to wrap her arms around him again, but she held back, wondering what the others would say.

'Well, you're right. None of us will be,' Elijah spoke and she lifted her head to the side. She felt like there was a "but" coming.

Finn walked over with a glass of champagne in his hand, 'You're staying behind.'

Then Rebekah spoke, 'We're leaving you, Nik. Right after I kill that döbbelganger wench, and you will be alone. Always and Forever.'

Skye's head shot up at that, cobalt blue eyes going wide, stance locking up. She didn't want to leave Niklaus. He was her brother, and she didn't care about what he had done.

At least she knew she was staying right here, because Skye wasn't that selfish. They would have each other, but Nik would have no one.

Klaus turned towards her other siblings, 'If you run, I will hunt all of you to your deaths.'

'Then you will become everything you hate. Our farther,' Elijah stated, not even considering that Skye had a voice in all of this too.

'I'm the hybrid! I can't be killed!' Klaus called with fury and hurt, 'I have nothing to fear from any of you.' He laughed bitterly.

'You will when we have that coffin,' Elijah spoke, and Nik looked honestly scared of that statement.

She wondered what coffin they were talking about, and who was in it. Not her father, she hoped. They would never awaken him if he had been asleep.

There was a moment of silence and then the click of a door. They all spun around in shock.

In the doorway stood her mother.

Nik gasped for air and Skye felt like she couldn't breathe either. Their mother was observing them, dressed in the clothes Skye had last seen her in.

'Mother,' Rebekah breathed.

Esther, their mother, began to walk to Nik. All of them turned back around to look at the scene before them.

Tears flowed freely down Nik's cheeks, and his mouth was hanging wide open. He looked down, scared to face the wrath of their mother.

'Look at me,' Esther said sternly, reminding Skye of all the times her mother had scolded her for misbehaving.

It felt like forever, but eventually Klaus looked up towards their mother, fear clear in his bright eyes.

'Do you know why I'm here?' Esther questioned him.

'You're here to kill me.'

It was more of a statement than a question.

'Niklaus, you are my son. And I am here, to forgive you.'

The shock was evident in the way Klaus looked at her, holding her gaze for a moment longer, before their mother turned around to look towards her other children.

'I want us to be a family again,' she stated calmly.

All of them looked at her in disbelief, except for Skye. She had the biggest grin on her face because of the words, and without a second to waste, she ran towards her mother and threw herself in her arms.

Her mother wrapped her arms around her in return, and softly began stroking her hair. She moved her lips to Skye's ear and whispered, 'My little bird.'

Skye couldn't help but cry.


	3. what i am aches in me

It was only after they had reconciled, that Skye was shown to her new room.

The room itself was gigantic, with white colored walls and heavy velvet curtains. The room contained a large queen bed, a dresser, two night stands and a large closet.

The closet was filled with clothes, from simple t-shirts and jeans to summer dresses and skirts. All the clothes were her size, like she had been expected.

Niklaus really had intended on making it their home.

When she first took a look in the closet, she had frowned and called her sister. The clothes were a mystery to her, because they were so different from her older clothes. Rebekah had explained every pair of clothing to her in a happy but slightly distracted voice.

They had tried to explain to her everything she had missed, but it had made her head hurt, so she excused herself before finding her room.

Skye had changed into some more modern clothes, and Rebekah had advised her to wear something warm. She didn't know why, but still she obeyed.

Wearing jeans and a shirt was new for her, but it was comfortable. She had chosen a simple knitted sweater with strokes of pattern on the end and grey jeans. Rebekah had given her a pair of black laced boots that fitted more nicely than she would have expected. Yet still, she felt like a girl trying to dress up.

She had given her hair a good brush before she went over to Rebekah's room. Her sister had said that once she was done, Skye had to come see her in her room and they would do something together.

On the way to her sister's room, Skye got distracted by all the modern furniture and the paintings that were lining the wall. She was so focused on a painting with white horses in a field, that she hadn't noticed that Kol had left his room and was walking towards her.

'Hey there, little sister,' Kol spoke, which made Skye jump.

'Don't scare me like that, Kol!' she scolded him.

A smirk appeared on his face as he leaned against the wall. He also had changed into more modern clothes, a bit baggy dark blue pants and a brown loose shirt.

'Where are you going?' her brother said in a sing-song.

Skye had to sigh.

'I'm going to see Bekah. She wanted to spent some time with me,' she explained patiently, like she was talking to a child.

Kol pouted slightly, 'I thought we could spent some time together. We haven't seen each other in a long time.'

'I also haven't seen Bekah in a long time.'

'It's yesterday for you since you last saw her,' he remarked.

'Yes, but it's been more than 900 years for her.'

'Same here.'

A grunt escaped Skye's lips.

'What if we spent some time together tomorrow? Or is that the day Mother decided to throw the ball?' a confused edge to her tone.

Almost everything their mother had said was a blur, she had just been so happy to see her.

'That's tomorrow,' he pointed out. Skye was just about to let out another sigh, when an idea came to mind.

'I'll save you a dance.'

Kol smirked, seemingly satisfied with that solution.

"I'll save you a dance and we spent some time together before the ball. How does that sound?' Skye added after some thought, he could teach her how to dance the routine they were supposed to know for the ball.

Her brother shrugged, 'Works for me.'

Skye smiled at Kol and then wrapped her arms around him in a light hug. Kol never had been one for hugs, but she had missed him. He grinned at her and ruffled her hair before walking away.

Happiness was something she hadn't had the pleasure of feeling the last couple of years of her life, but now here it was, strong and unbreakable. Her family was whole again, and she was going to spend some time with her siblings.

She practically skipped towards Rebekah's door, and then knocked two times.

'Come on in!' Rebekah called out to her. Skye opened the door and stepped in.

* * *

 

Rebekah was standing in front of her bed, looking at a couple of jackets of various models and colors. She had a bitter scowl on her face while doing so.

'What are you doing?' Skye asked her curiously.

Her sister spun around with a brown jacket in her hand, which she threw at her little sister. Skye caught it before it fell to the ground.

The blonde frowned slightly before focusing on Rebekah, 'Why do I need a jacket?'

'We're going somewhere,' Her sister said absentminded, making Skye bite her lip.

In response she simply nodded, sensing her sister wasn't in the best of moods. She pulled on the brown leather jacket, but held it open because she already felt herself overheating.

'What are we going to do?' she asked her sister.

'To visit a... friend of mine.'

Skye had noticed the pause in her sentence, and she wondered who this so-called friend was.

'You have made friends?' she decided to ask. Rebekah spun on her heel to playfully glare at her little sister, her fuel mood lessened.

'I can be nice, you know?'

'I never said you couldn't,' Skye shrugged.

Rebekah gave a roll off her eyes, but picked up a black shawl from a clothing rack and gave it to Skye on her way to the door.

'But I'm already dying of the heat,' Skye whined at the gesture.

'It's cold outside, and you want to keep that jacket open, so you are going to wear a scarf.'

Skye rolled her eyes. She was a vampire, there was no reason for her to wear such thick clothing, she couldn't get sick. Still, she knew it was better to just listen to her sister.

'As you wish.'

Rebekah opened the door, and together they sneaked out of the house.

Just like old times.

* * *

 

The lingering light was obliterated by the rapidly falling night. The once salmon and purple sky transformed into a vast expanse of jet-black that engulfed the town.

A canopy of luminous stars materialized among the ocean of blackness. Some were dull, merely flickering into existence now and then, but there was an adequate amount of shimmering stars to illuminate the dark, moonless night.

It was kind of sad that her first steps in the outside world since nine hundred years were steps into the darkness. Skye always had a particularly love for the day, sunlight and flowers. Most flowers didn't grow when it was dark.

So you must get that Skye had been heartbroken when she got burned by the sun the first time she had stepped outside after her transition. Her mother had been quick in making the daylight rings, but even those couple of hours had been hell for her.

Skye had never really liked the dark.

They were walking to an unknown destination. Well, Rebekah knew where they were going, but she wouldn't tell her where  _exactly_.

Skye was admiring all the new things like huge metal beasts and brick houses. It all looked so wonderful. Once in a while she would look up to see the dark night freckled with stars and she would be mesmerized by their beauty.

'Are we almost there?' Skye asked after a while.

She had the feeling that they were being followed now for a while, but she didn't want to share her paranoia with her sister. They were immortal, and the strongest creatures in the world for Christ 'sake.

'You don't have any patience, do you?' Rebekah snapped offhandedly.

Skye had the urge to snap something back, but clenched her teeth instead. She had forgotten how much of a bitch her sister could be.

'I do, but we have been walking for a while now,' she responded, aggravated.

Her sister gestured to a building in front of them that held a sign with the word hospital. Why would she have a friend at the hospital? Was one of her friends hurt? Did she even had friends that were human?

Rebekah shot her hand out to hold Skye back, and they came to a sudden halt.

'What's wrong?' Skye inquired curiously.

'Nothing, just stay here.'

'But-'

'Skye!' Rebekah scolded.

Skye scrunched her nose up but obeyed. Her sister threw her one last glance before she sped away.

That's when Skye heard a thump. Her eyes widened, and she looked around to see where it came from. Her eyes landed on a girl who got out of her car with a panicked expression.

She looked exactly like Tatia.

That's when Skye understood what Rebekah was doing.

Out of nowhere, Rebekah was standing in front of the girl.

'Drive much?' Rebekah's voice reached her ears.

'Rebekah,' the girl, Elena, said, but her sister wouldn't hear it. She slammed Elena against the car and Skye took a cautious step forward.

'Surprise, you drove a dagger through my heart, Elena.'

In that second Elijah zoomed beside Skye, and without questioning it, she said in a panic, 'Go, Elijah!'

He didn't need to hear it twice.

Rebekah finished her sentence by saying, 'It hurt,' and just when she was lifting her head to pierce her teeth into Elena's flesh, Elijah pulled her away.

He held her up against the car by her throat, and Skye sped over to them.

'Elijah,' Rebekah breathed, while Skye watched the encounter in shock. There was so much tension between her family.

'Leave,' he spoke. Rebekah caught her breath, but then straightened up.

'Are you challenging me?' Elijah questioned with raised brows, tension radiating from him.

'You're pathetic.'

She looked at Elena, 'Both of you.'

Skye was now looking at the Tatia döbbelganger, curiosity reflected in her entire gaze, but then she heard Rebekah ask, 'Skye, are you coming?'

She didn't turn to look at her sister, but kept staring at the girl who seemed to get uneasy under her gaze.

'Go home, Bekah. You should have told me what you were planning on doing.' Venom was present in her tone.

Rebekah snorted in disbelief, but then she was gone.

'Well, I believe we have a little catching up to do,' Elijah told Elena.

* * *

 

'So, you're the sister Klaus never told anyone about?'

Skye nodded her head. She wasn't surprised Klaus never mentioned her. His protectiveness towards her was ridiculous.

'You're the girl everyone seems to be so fond of.' No accusation in her tone, just simply stating a fact.

Elena wasn't so happy to be known as that, but it was better than to be known as the doppelgänger. Maybe Skye was just trying to be polite.

It had surprised Elena that Skye went against Rebekah just because she tried to kill her.

The Originals were always big on family.

'Something like that,' Elena decided.

Skye gave her a warm smile, and then looked at Elijah, 'I'll no longer disturb you. I promise that if I had known Bekah was going to do this, I would have stopped her. I'm sorry, Elijah,' she said genuinely.

Elijah gave her a small smile. All care and love, Elena noticed.

'I know you would, and I know you are. You have nothing to worry about. Go home, get some rest.'

Skye twitched one side of her mouth up in amusement, 'I've been asleep for nine hundred years, Elijah, but as you please.'

She gave Elena one last smile, before she vanished too.

* * *

 

Both her and Rebekah were lounging on the couch, getting their nails painted. Skye had went to her room the moment she got home, and she had apologized for being so harsh on her, but that she shouldn't try something like that again.

Rebekah had forgiven her because it was hard to stay mad at the girl. To be fair, it had been mean to keep her in the dark about her revenge plan.

At the moment, Finn was looking down at the dresser that was patching up his pants, while Elijah was shining up his shoes, and Kol was standing in front of the mirror fitting his new suit.

'Ladies, tell me how handsome I am,' Kol said, arrogance dripping from every word.

'Oh Kol, you know I can't be compelled,' Rebekah replied while inspecting her nails.

Skye was looking at her own pair of nails, but looked up when her sister said that. She gave her a playful glare and then complied to Kol's wishes, 'You look handsome.'

Finn started smiling at their playfulness, just when Klaus came storming in. He went straight for Rebekah, 'You went after Elena. What's wrong with you?'

Rebekah lowered her hand and cooed, 'Here we go.'

'Do you want another dagger in your heart?' Nik threatened her dangerously, stepping into her personal space.

Skye let out a sigh just when Kol said, 'Again with the dagger threats? Don't you have any other tricks?'

Klaus turned his head towards Kol and scowled at him, 'Go back to staring at yourself.'

'And who are you, my father?'

This time Klaus fully turned towards Kol, anger crossing his face.

'No Kol, but you're in my house.'

Kol stood up, getting in his face, 'Then perhaps we should take this outside.'

Skye noticed their Mother walking towards them, and hissed, 'Boys,' in a warning tone.

Of course, they didn't listen. Because why would they?  She was merely their little sister.

Not two seconds later, Esther's voice rang through the room, 'Enough. Niklaus, come.'

After throwing one last cutting glare at Kol, Klaus followed their mother to another room. Skye immediately noticed the smirk forming on her other brother's face, which made her feel protective over Niklaus.

'Wipe that smirk of your face,' Skye bit out, at which Kol only rolled his eyes.

'You don't have to come to his rescue all the time.'

'If you weren't such idiots all the time, I wouldn't have to.'

She had enough of all the tension. A sigh left her lips when they all directed their stares towards her, which resulted in her turning to Rebekah to avoid them.

'Do I need to have a chaperone for the ball?'

Rebekah looked at her in surprise, she had no idea where this question came from.

'You don't even know anyone, ' Kol reminded her.

This time Skye rolled her eyes, and asked again, 'Well, do I have to?'

'If you want,' Rebekah replied hesitantly.

She gave a curt nod, 'Okay, who were those boys yesterday?'

They all looked at her in question. She felt like she was in a room full of children.

'Those two young men? One with raven black hair, the other golden brown?'

Rebekah's eyes widened in realization, and she shot op from the couch.

'No! You will only get your heart broken.'

Skye had to bit her lip to not burst into giggles at her sisters frantic state.

'I agree with this one,' Elijah butted in.

'Just tell me,' Skye demanded.

'Damon and Stefan Salvatore.'

'Thank you, Finn,' the girl said with a smile directed towards him, 'Do you have any idea where I could find them?'

'You're not going to them!' Rebekah snapped.

Then her brows furrowed, 'Who of the two do you want to ask anyway?'

Skye thought about that for a moment, and then decided on the youngest, who also was the cutest now she truly thought about it.

'The one with the golden brown hair.'

'Stefan?' Elijah questioned, at which she nodded.

'You are aware he was the one holding us hostage, are you, little sister?' Kol tried to reason with her. Despite his usual careless behavior, he did care about her and he didn't want her to get hurt.

Skye just shrugged, 'It's innocent. I just don't want to go dateless. Well, if you excuse me, I have an invitation to deliver.'

* * *

 

After she did some research, and had found out where Stefan lived, she send out an invitation.

Skye was nervous asking him for the ball, even though she hadn't lied when she had said that it was purely innocent. He was still a cute boy.

Now Rebekah had gotten her so far to go with her to the local bar to extend her invitation to a boy who worked there.

Skye had teased Bekah about him the whole way, and had gotten some information about him while doing so.

His name was Matt Donovan, lived alone, went to school with her and he was Elena's friend.

Skye had been suspicious when Rebekah had said that, but her sister quickly said that she needed to relax and that she actually liked the boy.

The moment they walked into the bar, Skye noticed Elena sitting with a friend. Her friend looked pretty, and if she was being honest, she got a sting of jealousy when she saw the girl.

She casted a worried glance at her sister, but she only had eyes for a boy with blond hair, who was cleaning up the dishes.

The moment they walked by the table of the two girls, Rebekah turned towards them, 'Careful Caroline, it's all well and good until she stabs you in the back.'

'What are you doing here? I heard your moms rules, no murdering the locals,' Elena directed to Rebekah.

'Get over yourself, Elena. It's not all about you.' Then she walked towards Matt with a swing in her hips.

Skye frowned, but stayed put, giving her sister a moment. She turned towards the two girls with an apologetic smile on her face, 'I'm sorry about her.'

Caroline gave her a once over, and then asked, 'Who are you?'

'Oh, Caroline, this is Skye Mikaelson. Skye, this is Caroline Forbes,' Elena introduced them.

Elena was still weary of the Original, but until now she had been the nicest of them all. If you didn't count Elijah, of course.

Again, they turned to look at Rebekah handing an invitation to Matt.

'Oh my God, she's inviting him to the ball,' Caroline spoke in disbelief.

She turned towards them, 'Why is she inviting him?'

'Probably to get this reaction from us,' Elena stated.

'If it's any consolation, I think she actually likes him?' Skye told the girls. They both looked her in disbelief, and again she plastered an apologetic look on her face.

Caroline let out an aggravated sigh and casted one last glance at the couple before she asked, 'What time is this stupid dance?'


	4. in a world this cruel

Strings of sparkling lights were wrapped around the trees at the entrance, and a classic tune was echoing throughout the room. The chattering of the people and the clinking of champagne glasses was heard over the classy music.

Everyone had done their absolute best to look elegant in dashing suits and long sleek dresses. Butlers walked around handing champagne glasses to those who didn't have a drink yet, and everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Damon Salvatore made his way towards Carol Lockwood with two champagne glasses in his hand, handing one to the older woman. The mayor was wearing a long crème colored dress that fitted every curve.

'Hello, Carol,' Damon greeted her.

Carol hummed in response and they touched their glasses together.

'Hanging out with your new besties?' he asked her while taking a sip of his drink.

Carol let out a sigh, 'I'm the mayor, Damon. When the oldest, deadliest family of vampires moves into your town, you welcome them. With a smile.'

'Well, at least you know who you're borrowing that cup of sugar from,' The words left Damon's mouth in a sing-song tune.

The woman looked at him with irritation, 'I'm trying to protect this town. They assured me they want peace and I assured them that I would enforce it,' Carol stated.

'Mayor Lockwood,' a voice interrupted them.

Kol walked up to them and took Carol's hand, 'We haven't formally met, Kol Mikaelson,' he said and gave a light kiss on her hand.

'I hope your lovely town embraces us just as much as we plan to embrace it.'

Carol nodded at him with a tight smile and Damon held out his hand, 'Damon Salvatore.'

Kol looked up with a slight smirk on his face, and Damon squinted his eyes at him.

'Have we met?' he asked confused.

'I've met a lot of people. And you don't particularly stand out.' Kol gave a nod toward Carol, and then walked away, completely ignoring Damon on his way.

Damon followed him with his eyes, but then turned his gaze towards the entrance, seeing Elena just entered. He looked at her and couldn't comprehend how stunning she was.

The ball gown she was wearing sparkled with every movement she made, and her hair was brushed to the side in thick chestnut locks. She gave her copper-colored jacket to the woman who the family had compelled to work there for the evening.

'Excuse me, Carol,' Damon excused himself. He made his way over to Elena. When he reached her, Stefan was standing beside her.

'Surprise, surprise. Nice tux,' he mocked Stefan.

Then he turned to Elena, 'You're not supposed to be here.'

Elena grinned at him, 'Well, I am. And I'm not leaving until I found out what Esther wants.'

Damon raised his eyebrows, but then turned to Stefan, 'Do you really think it is a good idea to be at a party of a family you previously held hostage?'

Stefan raised one of his eyebrows, 'I've been invited, actually.'

Elena turned to him with wide eyes, 'By whom?'

'By her,' Stefan said and he pointed at someone walking down the stairs.

* * *

 

Her heels made light noises on the staircase when she walked down, but everyone seemed to notice her. Conversations came to a halt and all the stares landed on her.

Walking down was Skye, dressed in a crème colored dress that widened at the bottom. On top of her under layer was a gauze with golden like swirls embroidered in it. The top of her dress had a sweetheart neckline and no straps.

Her hair cascaded down on her shoulders, coming to the middle of her waist. Light ringlets were made in the honey blonde waves. Her make-up was done without fault and she looked like an angel descending down the stairs.

Skye looked up from the laced heels she was wearing to the people around her. Everyone seemed to gape at her and a blush crept onto her cheeks.

Then her eyes find those of her date. A small smile appeared on her face when she looked into the pools of deep green.

Skye ducked her head back down and walked further down the stairs. When she was at the bottom, the people turned back towards their conversations, a bit steered off topic.

Skye tried to mingle a bit and start-up conversations until Stefan walked up to her.

A cocky but confused smirk laced his face.

'You got my invitation,' Skye stated. She nodded her head in a good-mannerly fashion and then smiled at the young man in front of her.

'I did,' he said, 'I have to say that I was surprised to find an invitation from the mystery Mikaelson.'

Skye giggled and rolled her eyes slightly, 'Oh, stop. I'm not that much of a mystery.'

Amusement twinkled in his eyes and then he took in her appearance, 'You look beautiful,' he told her. A rosy blush crept onto her cheeks and she made a slight reverence in thanks.

The sound of a microphone being turned on gathered everyone's attention.

'Uh, if everyone could gather please,' Elijah's voice rang through the room.

Skye gave Stefan a small apologetic smile before speaking up, 'It seems that I'm needed.'

She walked towards the stairs to stand there with her other siblings, grabbing a glass of champagne along the way. She took place near Nik and gave him a smile.

He returned the smile until his eyes flitted down to the hand holding her champagne, and then he snatched it out of her hands. Skye looked at him with an offended gaze, but he only gave her a smirk. She huffed and then turned her attention back towards the room.

Their mother walked down the stairs, wearing a dark green dress with shoulder caps.

'Welcome, thank you for joining us,' Elijah begun his speech.

He looked towards their mother and gestured to her, 'You know, whenever my mother brings our family together like this, it's tradition for us to commence the evening with a dance. Tonight's pick is a centuries old Waltz. So if all of you could find yourselves a partner? Please join us in the ballroom.'

Everyone started talking again and they moved towards the room they were directed at. Skye saw her mother making eye contact with Elena, followed by her making her way back upstairs.

A frown took a hold of her face, but then she shook it off, making her way downstairs with her siblings.

It took her a second to find Stefan, but when she found him, he was standing there with a glass of champagne, looking gloomily at his brother and Elena making their way towards the dance floor. Niklaus had mentioned something between them.

Skye felt a twinge of regret. She shouldn't have asked him to come with her. He was seemingly in love with someone else. Still, she made her way over to him, not missing up on the dance.

'Care to join me?' she asked Stefan once she reached him. He took her hand and together they made their way to the ballroom.

They all lined up, the girls pinning their arm out. They began to Waltz. Stefan spun her around once and then his hand was on her back and her hand on his shoulder.

They locked eyes while moving and stepping every step they were supposed to take.

'Thank you for coming,' Skye breathed out.

A small smile played with the corners of his lips, 'It's my pleasure.'

Once again they spun around, Stefan looking towards Elena. Skye followed his gaze and inwardly sighed.

Rebekah and Nik had been right.

'You love her, don't you?' she asked him.

He turned to look at her shimmering blue eyes with a confused expression, 'What?'

'Elena. You love her.'

He looked unsure of what to say, so she gave him a reassuring smile, 'It's okay.'

He gave her a barely recognizable nod.

Skye looked around and saw Nik dancing with Caroline. She was wearing a gorgeous dress that Klaus picked out for her. Skye had given him a hand, but then had been called back by Kol because she had promised to spent some time with him before the ball.

Rebekah was dancing with Matt, a smile on her face. Kol and Finn were there somewhere too, but she only exchanged glances with them.

Seeing her family an ounce of happy made the knot in her stomach untangle. It had been there since she had seen her mother being slightly suspicious.

'I didn't know you knew this dance?' Stefan's voice snapped her back into reality.

'Kol taught me.'

She had made Kol useful by letting him give her the dance lessons that she needed.

'You're a natural at it.'

Skye smiled at him, a bit embarrassed.

They stepped away from each other, still holding arms and then he twirled her around until she was in the arms of someone else. She looked up to be met with a pair of blue menacing eyes.

Stefan was now dancing with Elena, Matt with Caroline and Klaus with Rebekah. Skye would have laughed at that, wasn't it for her attention being completely focused somewhere else. Damon's captivating eyes.

'You look better without a dagger in your heart,' Damon Salvatore informed her.

He was studying her with an intense expression, like he was solving a puzzle. He didn't know what to think of her. She was a Mikaelson, so the chance that she was just as malicious as her siblings was bigger than her being innocent. She looked innocent enough, but he knew he shouldn't be fooled by appearance.

'You look better now you talk.'

He chuckled at that.

The first time she had introduced herself he couldn't think of anything to say. She had been dashing in that coffin, but once she was alive and talking, she had been beautiful. Like an angel had looked upon him. He knew Stefan had felt the same, because he had been just as speechless as him.

'Well, let's say we both look amazing.'

'I can agree with that.' An innocent smirk graced her face.

The rounds they were stepping would have made her dizzy wasn't it for the fact that the close proximity of Damon put her at ease. She didn't know why, because she could see Stefan was the better brother, but Damon seemed more... honest.

She could see he didn't easily let emotions show, but that made him all the more easier to read. The best way she could describe him was; lonely. His blue eyes seemed empty even though he was joking.

'You have beautiful eyes,' she blurted out. Her eyes immediately widened and she turned crimson.

Damon's brows shot up in surprise, but then a smirk appeared on his face, 'Maybe you asked the wrong Salvatore to the ball.'

'Perhaps,' she breathed out.

They just looked at each other for the rest of the dance, wonder in her eyes and slight amusement in his. But his amusement was also mixed with something else; admiration.

When the song came to an end, they broke apart and made a small bow to each other. Then Damon looked around and asked confused, 'Where is Elena?'

* * *

 

Kol and Rebekah were standing next to each other, overlooking the party.

'Where's your date?' Kol questioned his little sister.

'Delighting with his ex,' she bit and stubbornly looked ahead. She didn't want to show her hurt, so she went with disgust.

Kol grinned, 'You've changed, Bekah, you know settling for mortals is the first sign of weakness.' He swirled his champagne around in his glass.

'I'm not settling. I brought him here to kill him.'

Kol looked at her in surprise.

'He is Elena's friend. If he dies, she suffers. But I've already been scolded twice, so I was hoping you would help your baby sister out?'

'And spit right in the face of Mother's rules? Skye isn't going to like it that much either.'

Rebekah just looked at him expectantly.

Kol turned his head to look ahead of him and a grin appeared on his face, 'I'm in.'

* * *

 

Elena knocked on the door to Esther's room and was welcomed by Finn.

'You came alone. Wise choice.' He gestured that she could walk in. Elena suspiciously watched the burning bundle of herbs Esther was holding.

'Relax, it's only sage. I've spelled it so we can speak freely without fear of being overheard.'

Then Esther directed herself at her son, 'That would be all, Finn. Thank you.'

Finn closed the doors on his way out.

'You must have a million questions for me Elena. Please,' she motioned towards the couch.

Elena cautiously walked towards it and sat down, Esther taking a seat next to her.

'How are you alive? Are you a ghost, or?' Elena asked first with a look of curiosity and confusion.

'Not exactly. When I died the witch Ayana preserved my body with a spell. She was a close friend of mine. An ancestor of your friend Bonnie.'

'So that's why only Bonnie and her mother could open up the casket,' Elena realized.

'They complete the Bennet bloodline. I drew power from them and their ancestors who were with me on the other side.'

'So, you've been on the other side for a thousand years?' Elena asked shocked.

'Nature's way of punishing me for turning my family into vampires,' Esther said, face hardened.

'But there is a way for me to undo the evil I created,' she added confidently.

Elena's eyes widened, 'You would help us kill Klaus? Would you?'

'One thing at a time, Elena. For now, I simply need your help.'

Esther lit the candles that were placed on a table with a goblet in the middle.

'I understand Rebekah shared the story of my family?' Esther asked and she blew out the match. Elena nodded.

'How I upset the balance of nature by turning my children into vampires.'

'She said you did it to protect them from the werewolves.'

'It's true.' Esther poured a clear liquid into the goblet.

'But in no time at all they began to feed on human blood. They ravished the town with no remorse. Except for Skye. Do you know that she only killed one person her entire life?' she questioned.

Elena looked shocked. She had never thought that Skye just killed one. She had thought of hundreds, how innocent she may have looked.

'Eventually, Niklaus turned against me,' she continued the story.

'How are you going to kill him? He's immortal.'

Esther turned back to Elena, 'It will take time, magic, and your assistance.'

Elena tilted her head to the side, 'What do I have to do?'

'My children believe I'm holding this ball to celebrate this reunion. But in truth I gathered them together to perform a ritual. The first step requires blood from the döbbelganger.'

Elena straightened in her seat with a tinge of fear in her eyes.

'Only a drop. It's essence will be in the champagne toast later on this evening.'

Esther plucked a small dagger of the table, 'Will you do it, or shall I?' she asked Elena.

Elena studied Esther for a moment and then took off her long glove and gave Esther her hand.

Esther pinned the point of the dagger in Elena's finger and moved it towards the goblet, letting the blood drip in it.

'Elijah is more suspicious than the others, so he may need to be more persuaded. Skye is getting more suspicious by the minute and she will definitely hesitate before drinking the champagne. But they must all drink the toast in order to be linked as one.'

'What do you mean linked as one?'

'You said yourself Klaus can't be killed. But tonight's spell will link all off my children together so that if one goes, they all go.'

'Wh-what?' Elena stuttered out.

'I love my family, Elena. But they are an abomination. I betrayed nature by creating them. It's my duty to kill them.'

* * *

 

The tapping of a glass brought the attention of Skye and Klaus towards their mother. They had talked to Caroline who was a bit hostile to both, but sweet nonetheless.

A bit earlier Skye had given Kol that dance she had promised him, and he had complimented himself on his work of teaching her. He  _was_  that cocky.

'Good evening, ladies and gentleman. Waiters are coming around with champagne. I invite you all to join us in raising a glass.' While Klaus gave a glass of champagne to Caroline, Skye snatched one of her own from the tray.

'It provides me with no greater joy then to see my family back together as one. I'd like to thank you all for being part of this spectacular evening. Cheers.'

With that she rose her glass.

Everyone did the same and lifted their champagne glasses to their mouths. Skye's eyes flitted to the sparkling liquid in the glass and she hesitated for a moment. Her mother had a thing for putting stuff in their drinks.

Using her hesitation as an advantage, Klaus once again snatched her glass away and drank it himself, followed by his own.

Skye glowered at him and crossed her arms over her chest, completely forgetting that she had been suspicious of the drink moments before. The only thought on her mind was that her brother was an overprotective jerk.

* * *

 

Elena was looking if every Original was taking a sip of their champagne.

She saw Kol take a sip, followed by Rebekah.

Finn downed his drink and then she turned her head towards Klaus just in time to see Klaus snatch away Skye's champagne glass and downing it himself.

Her eyes widened and she stepped towards them, but Elijah stopped her.

'What's wrong?' Elena casted one last glance at Skye but then turned back to Elijah.

'Nothing,' she reassured.

'Cheers,' Elijah said as he held his glass up to Elena. She tapped his glass and they both took a sip.

Elena had an unreadable expression on her face.

* * *

 

Skye was just walking upstairs when she noticed Damon standing in the doorway to the balcony.

'Easy on the hand. The guy's a quarterback,' Damon directed at someone.

Skye turned the corner to see Kol holding Matt's hand in a firm grip that cracked the poor guys bones, and before she knew it, Damon lunged at Kol, throwing him off the balcony. He jumped after him.

Skye gasped and ran to the railing, seeing how Damon snapped Kol's neck.

Soon after, Stefan came into view.

'Damon!' he whisper yelled. Damon stood up, breathing heavily.

'What, are you crazy?' Stefan asked him.

Slowly all of her other siblings came out, Finn at the front. Elena ran out after them.

Damon looked at them with a small frown and admitted, 'Maybe a little.'

Then he looked at Elena and said something Skye couldn't quite hear.

Damon looked up and met Skye's shimmering blue hues before he turned and walked away.

* * *

 

'Are we alright to speak freely?' Finn inquired their mother.

'Yes. The sage still burns.' Esther took out a piece of paper, an unreadable expression etched on her face, mind obviously occupied with other thoughts.

'You're not having second thoughts, are you?' Finn asked cautiously, picking up on his mother's hesitation.

'Of course not. It's just Elijah and Skye. They're both so moral,' their mother amended, thinking of her children. She loved all of them, but those two had always had a special place in her heart.

Elijah's morality and Skye's kindness were always so affectious.

'You're doing the right thing, Mother,' Finn reassured.

'You understand what this means, don't you? This spell I'm casting tonight will bind you all together as one.'

'I understand. When it is time I will be ready to die.'

'Then we must complete the link.'

Esther stood up, took Finn's hand and sliced it with the dagger. Then she let the blood drop on the paper where the names of her children were written on.

Esther chanted a spell and slowly the blood connected with the names, forming a tree.

But then it suddenly stopped in front of Skye's name.

Esther and Finn both frowned and turned to each other with worried looks. All of them were linked except Skye. And that could complicate things.

The paper burst into flames, with an almost finished connection.

* * *

 

After the spectacle at her house, Skye left and went to the Mystic Grill. It wasn't hard to find, because she still remembered how she went there with Rebekah.

She was still wearing her dress, too exhausted and angry to change into something else. She couldn't believe Kol and Rebekah would do such a thing. And to really think Rebekah liked that boy, Matt.

She was standing at the bar, drinking a shot of Vodka that she had compelled from the bartender. Alcohol was something she rarely drank because Nik didn't want her to.

Now she was too mad to care.

She already had consumed three shots when she heard a voice.

'Easy there.' Damon went to stand next to her, an almost empty bottle of some sort of alcohol in his hand.

'Don't even start,' Skye muttered. She didn't turn to look at him, afraid of what she might do now she was slightly drunk and all her emotions were flaring up.

'I can't believe Rebekah and Kol could be so careless,' Skye muttered when the silence became too much.

Damon grabbed the bottle of Vodka from behind the bar and a shot glass for himself.

Then he poured some Vodka in both their glasses.

'Well, this will have to do.' He glided the shot glass to Skye and she downed it in one big gulp.

Next to her Damon did the same, 'Wouldn't expect you wanting to get drunk.'

'Are you saying I'm no fun?' Skye questioned him mockingly.

'Maybe you should prove it.'

She looked at him with her eyebrows raised, 'What is it you're thinking of?'

Damon looked at her expectantly.

* * *

 

His hands were roaming over her body, shoving away her dress that dropped to the floor. Damon kicked the door closed and pushed Skye against the wall, trailing kisses along her neck.

The only thing she was still wearing were panties, seeing as though she couldn't fit a bra with her strapless dress. She turned Damon around in lightning speed, ripping open his shirt and leaving wet sloppery kisses over his torso.

Then she went back to his mouth and slammed her lips against his, moving fast.

Out of nowhere her back was pushed against Damon, his hand grabbing onto her chest. His mouth was on her neck, kissing it intensely while he kneaded the soft flesh.

They slammed against another wall, Skye's mouth wide open, gasping for air.

She would worry about the consequences tomorrow.


	5. we touch like cripples

Skye Mikaelson awoke to soft sheets and the morning light trickling in through the blinds. Shedding herself of the remaining glimpses of a dream, her eyes were still shut as she soaked in the warmth of the covers before letting her blue eyes see the sun rays.

Turning her body around, she came eye to eye with a sleeping Damon. Cobalt blue hues widened as she tried her hardest not to move, scared that it might stir him awake.

The pain in her head was clear and glimpses of the night before came flooding back.

Rebekah and Kol trying to kill Matt, her drinking her sorrows away and Damon joining her until they went back to his place and had sex.

She couldn't believe herself. She was never this reckless. Never had sex with guys she had just met.

She looked down at her naked body and pulled the covers over her face, letting out a soft aggravated groan. Her family was so going to kill her.

The buzzing of a phone on Damon's bed side table brought her out of her reverie and immediately she tried pretending to be asleep. Next to her Damon began moving and the bed dipped with his weight when he leaned his body on the mattress.

'What?' Damon's rough voice filled her ears. She focused on the person speaking on the other line.

Eavesdropping was bad, she knew that, but she was curious who would call this early.

'Hey,' she heard Elena say on the other end of the line.

Inwardly, Skye groaned. Of course she had to have sex with a guy who was into Elena. Because oh no, she didn't learn that asking the ex-boyfriend of Elena out on a date was a bad idea.

Everything involving Elena was a bad idea. It wasn't the girl her fault. She couldn't manipulate their feelings. But it still bothered her.

'I-I called you like ten times last night.' A slight pause, 'We need to talk.'

Next to her Damon spoke, his gaze heavy on her shoulders, knowing he was now looking at her, 'Sorry, I've been busy.'

A blush crept onto Skye's cheeks, despite her efforts to fight it.

'If you're mad at me, Damon, you need to get over it.'

In Skye's fake attempt of sleeping, she had rolled over so her back was facing Damon's.

When Elena said that, she understood why Damon had been moping and drinking last night, and Elena wasn't nice about it either.

A frown took over her smooth skin.

'Oh, I'm over it,' Damon said and then she heard the noise of him hanging up the phone. She felt the weight of the bed shift again and Skye moved also to look at Damon. He was already staring at her. Just act normal, she decided.

She smiled awkwardly at the man lying next to her. Inwardly, she decided that she could have chosen a worse bed partner. Damon had some issues, but didn't they all?

'Morning, sunshine.'

She rolled her eyes at him, throwing her idea of being nice to him out the window at that comment, and then pulled the cover with her while standing up. The satin sheet easily covered her naked parts, but left Damon very exposed.

He lifted a brow and a rosy blush crawled onto her cheeks. Her eyes looked everywhere but him, and in doing so she spotted his pants. She flashed over there and threw them towards him.

'Please, put on some clothes,' she told him while looking at the wall behind him, eyes not daring to stray towards his bare body.

She could hear him getting up, and as he moved closer to her, he breathed into her ear, 'You sure?' His breath hot on her already glowing face.

'Y-yes, definitely, one-hundred percent.'

A deep chuckle left his throat, but then she heard the ruffling of his pants.

After a moment he said, 'You can look at me now.'

Slowly she moved her eyes upwards, and finally Damon was wearing his pants. His torso was still exposed, but it was a pleasant sight so she didn't mind.

The covers were still wrapped tightly around her body and she scanned over the room once more in search for her dress and panties.

'I think your dress is downstairs in the hallway,' Damon stated amused.

Her eyes shot up to his and she paled, 'Yeah, I think so too.'

Together they made their way downstairs and Skye zipped on the dress again, leaving her panties because she remembered something about him ripping them apart. That had been kind of sexy, she had to admit that.

'Are you going to tell anyone?' Skye asked him with a small voice.

'Do you want me to?' he asked her with a smirk.

She glared at him and then threw her hair over her shoulders. Her dress was all wrinkled now and her hair was a mess. Her make-up was smudged but Damon thought she still looked damn sexy.

He walked over to the door and opened it for her to be met with the sight of Elena, looking completely baffled. This probably didn't look good. Well, it wasn't good.

'Hey, Elena,' she said nervously without looking her in the eye. She scooted by Elena and muttered a small goodbye.

Well, that was mortifying.

* * *

 

Damon was buttoning up his blouse while Elena was scolding him, 'Did you stop taking your vervain?'

Damon looked at her in surprise, 'You think Skye had to compel me?'

Elena looked at him in anger, 'What's wrong with you? She tried to kill me less than forty-eight hours ago!'

'No, Rebekah tried to kill you less than forty-eight hours ago. Skye was just an innocent bystander.'

Elena knew he was right, of course she did, but at that moment she was hurt that he would just go sleep with an Original because she said something to him that he didn't like.

Okay, maybe it wasn't because he slept with an Original, she was sure she would have been just as mad if it was anybody else.

'So is that how it's going to be now? I hurt your feelings and this is how you lash out at me?'

Damon was pouring a glass of bourbon, completely ignoring her emotional turmoil, satisfied with her reaction. Such a strong reaction meant that she cared.

'Well, maybe, for once, something I did had nothing to do with you,' he pointed out.

Elena looked at him in disapproval, while Damon toasted his glass to her.

'You should know that Esther is planning on killing her entire family. She's linked them all together with a spell. Whatever happens to one, happens to all of them.'

She decided to leave Skye not drinking the champagne out, wondering how Damon would react. He didn't even move a muscle.

'Well, that's great! Klaus will finally be dead. We win.'

He studied her facial expression and continued, 'Why do you look like someone just shot a panda bear?'

Elena looked at him in shock, 'Uh, because to kill Klaus she has to kill all of them, including Elijah. And he doesn't deserve this!' she exclaimed.

'I'm supposed to care about Elijah?' Damon questioned.

'Shouldn't you at least care about Skye?' Elena asked with venom in her tone.

'Two seconds ago, you were pissed that she helped Rebekah attack you. It's a win-win,' he told her.

'Whatever.'

Damon lifted a brow and Elena huffed. She moved to walk away but Damon flashed in front of her, drink in his hand.

'Don't do anything to screw this up, Elena,' he warned her.

'Why are you doing this?' she asked him.

'He's right, you know. Klaus has to die. They all do,' Stefan's voice filled the room.

'See? It's democracy in action,' Damon said and then took a sip of his drink.

Elena looked at them both indignantly and then walked away, knocking into Damon on the way, making him spill a bit of his drink.

* * *

 

'Well, well, well, there's our girl.'

This was the first thing she heard when she walked into the room. Her laced ivory stiletto's were hanging loosely in her hand.

Her hangover had only gotten worse since she left the boarding house. She would have thought that being a vampire would cure that.

In the living room, she stumbled onto both Nik and Kol, who both looked quite angry. Klaus more so than Kol.

She tried to go to her room, but Kol stopped her.

'Get out of my way, Kol,' she hissed harsher then she intended. She blamed it on the hangover. Oh, and on the fact that he tried to kill Matt last night.

Klaus walked over and took in her appearance, 'Where were you last night?' he asked in a dangerous voice.

Skye cringed but then straightened her back. Screw her family, they were all a bunch of jerks.

'None of your business,' she snapped back.

Kol looked at her in surprise, but Klaus just narrowed his eyes, 'Excuse me? You go out all night without telling where you are and then you return in the dress you wore yesterday and smelling like alcohol!' Nik spat.

'Yes? I can do anything I want. I'm not your little pet.'

'No, but you are my little sister. Where were you? Did you spent the night with one of the Salvatore's? Stefan maybe?' he suggested angrily.

She knew that if she told him it was Damon that the guy wouldn't live to see another day. But she couldn't possibly screw over Stefan.

She avoided Nik's eyes, 'No.'

He tilted his head to the side and then widened his eyes in realization, 'You slept with Damon?' he almost screached. This time she did cringe openly.

'I need entertainment, something better than this. And even though I would love to get my hands on Damon's throat, I would care for a drink,' Kol interrupted, noticing the slightly scared expression on Skye's face.

'What are you waiting for? Go on, have at it,' Klaus said to him without taking his eyes off his little sister.

'It's not fun to go alone. Join me, Nik! It's the least you can do after sticking a dagger in my heart,' Kol tried to fuss the argument.

This time Klaus did direct his attention towards Kol, and when he saw his pleading expression, he agreed to cool off, 'Okay. Why not? I didn't have nearly enough to drink last night, what with you trying to murder Rebekah's date.'

That was enough for Skye to become angry all over again, but before she could make a comment, Rebekah strolled in, 'Yes, please go, this house has enough men rolling around it in.'

'Just like you, Bekah,' Kol responded while both Klaus and him were walking out of the door.

Rebekah flashed towards Skye, snatched one of the shoes out of her hand and threw it after Kol. He chuckled and sprinted out off the door. Skye looked at her, offended that she just threw her shoe.

Elijah entered the room, holding a bundle of burnt sage.

'Don't start, Elijah,' Skye told him in advance.

He just looked at her a bit disapprovingly. 'I'm worried about mother. Have you not noticed her strange behavior?' he inquired.

'She's been dead for a thousand years. What's strange for her?' Rebekah questioned.

Elijah walked towards them, showing the herbs, 'Burnt sage.'

Skye snatched it out of his hand and studied it.

Before she became a vampire she had always been interested in what her mother could do. She even showed a few signs of having magic herself, but when she became a vampire that magic had been stripped away. A vampire could never be a witch, vampires were dead and witches drew power from the living.

'She was doing a privacy spell,' she muttered, at which Elijah nodded.

Rebekah looked at them like they were crazy, 'You know she fancies such things. Why don't you ask Finn? He's been doting on her.'

'I don't trust, Finn. He hates what we are, he always has.'

At that Skye frowned, but she didn't comment. Of course that didn't mean that Rebekah wouldn't answer.

'That's not true. And as for mother, she returned for one reason, to make our family whole. She loves us. What trouble are you looking to find?'

* * *

 

After discussing all the facts, they came upon one blinding conclusion. Elena had lied to them, and their mother was trying to kill them.

'So, what you're saying is that when you asked Elena if mother was planning something, she told you she wasn't, while they were actually going over some secret plan?' Skye inquired in disbelief.

Elijah nodded and Rebekah huffed, 'That bitch.'

Skye chose to ignore her comment, and turned towards Elijah, 'What are you planning on doing about it?'

He thought about it for a moment and then decided, 'Let me deal with it. If I need help, I will call,' he told them and then he left the room.

* * *

 

They were just hanging around, restless, when Rebekah got a call from Elijah who asked her to meet him somewhere. He didn't say anything else and Rebekah made Skye promise to stay where she was unless told otherwise. She had protested, but she couldn't do much, so eventually she just agreed.

Elijah came back an hour later, and together they made their way to the boarding house. On the way there Elijah had told Skye the plan and even though she didn't agree with it, it was still a good plan.

Still, she couldn't help but glare at her brother the entire way there.

* * *

 

They told Damon. At the moment, Skye was standing next to Elijah who was sitting on a chair in front of the fireplace. She looked at the ground, but her head shot up when Stefan walked in.

'I can't find her anywhere,' he told Damon, but stopped in his tracks when he saw them.

'Hello, Stefan,' Elijah greeted him.

Stefan's eyes moved towards her and she looked away, not daring to look him in the eyes. She felt miserable, but she also didn't want to die.

Stefan went to stand next to Damon.

'He has Elena,' Damon told him.

'Actually, she's with Rebekah. As you can imagine, my sister is just dying to tear her throat out,' Elijah corrected him and Skye shot him a hostile glare that he pointedly ignored.

'So... if you want to save Elena's life, I need you to help us stop our mother.'

'I'm a little embarrassed to admit, but when it comes to killing thousand-year old resurrected witches, I'm a little rusty,' Damon mocked.

Skye decided to step in, 'Yes, unfortunately, even when killed our mother doesn't seem to want to stay dead. Not with the spirits of nature at her side at least.'

'So, what are we supposed to do?' Stefan asked curiously while taking a few steps their way.

This is the part that Skye hated.

'The witches that released my mother, she's drawing her power from their bloodline, that line needs to be broken,' Elijah explained them patiently.

'Broken?' Stefan questioned.

Damon moved to stand next to his brother, 'Yeah, he means...' Damon made a cutting motion with his finger over his throat.

'You want us to kill them?' disbelief laced Stefan's tone.

'You know, I'd do it myself, but I have absolutely no idea where they are. Besides, seeing me, they'd immediately know my intent. They won't expect to be harmed by the likes of you. In any case, you have until six minutes after nine to find them.'

Elijah stood up, and picked up his coat. Skye straightened herself and buttoned up her jacket.

'Oh, how super specific of you,' Damon mocked.

'By 9:07, the moon will be full, our mother will have the power she needs to kill us and the rest of our family. If you do not stop her before then, Rebekah will kill Elena. So, we all have our time line? I suggest you get started.'

* * *

 

Finn Mikaelson could be found lighting up torches around a pentagram of salt, drawn in front of a burned down mansion, with the spirits of a hundred death witches trapped inside.

'The pentagram represents our connection to magic. The salt is a symbol of the Earth,' Esther explains to the Bennet witches next to her.

'The torches?' Bonnie wondered.

'Five torches. One for each of my children.'

Bonnie frowned, 'But you have six children,' she pointed out.

'Yes... I'm afraid there is a slight complication. We can deal with that later.'

Bonnie and her mother seemed both reluctant, but eventually Bonnie asked, 'What's the spell you're doing?'

'As the witch who cast the spell that made them vampires, I can also reverse it. When they become human again, they can be killed. As they are linked as one, my brave Finn will be the sacrifice. With his death, will come theirs,' Esther answered.

'And you're just willing to die?' asked Abby to Finn in disbelief.

'My mother has released me from an eternity of shame. It's not a sacrifice, it's a gift,' Finn told them all, ending the discussion.

* * *

 

As the two siblings made their way through Mystic Falls, Skye was shocked when Elijah collapsed to the ground next to her, black veins appearing on his body. Skye's eyes widened as she dropped to the ground beside him, clutching the lapels of his suit jacket tightly, worry evident on her face.

It didn't take long before he woke up, making Skye hug her brother in relief. As soon as she was sure he was okay, she focused back on her surroundings. They were both confused as to what happened, but were soon distracted by Klaus's voice drifting down to them from an alleyway beside the Grill.

After sharing a quick look with her brother, they both sped towards the scene.

* * *

 

When they appeared, they saw Stefan and Alaric knocked out on the ground and Klaus just about to attack Damon.

'Leave him!' Elijah told their brother sternly, taking in the situation at hand.

Nik turned around with a grimace on his face. He didn't know what was happening, and he didn't like it one bit.

'We still need them, Niklaus.'

Elijah looked at him with a serious expression, stance rigid and eyes morose. Skye didn't want to interfere when he was obviously stressed out enough as it was.

'What did mother do?' he directed to both, but when they didn't answer, Nik turned to Elijah.

'What did she do, Elijah?'

Ignoring his brother, Elijah took his phone out of his pocket and walked towards Damon.

Skye followed him and casted an apologetic gaze to Stefan who was looking up at them from the ground. She took place next to Klaus.

'You tell me where the witches are, or I'll have my sister kill Elena right now,' Elijah warned.

Biting her bottom lip, she had to keep herself from reacting, knowing it would not help their situation one bit. They needed to stop the witches, or else her entire family would perish. She did not have the luxury to worry about the lives of others.

Damon directed a glance at the clock tower that was visible from their location.

'You told me we had until after nine!'

'I'm sure Rebekah will be more than happy to start her work early.'

* * *

 

About fifteen minutes later, Skye was walking towards an old abandoned burned down house that supposedly held the magic of a hundred death witches.

'They're coming, Mother!' was the first thing she heard when they approached the mansion.

Trailing after her brothers, she couldn't help but wonder what she had done to deserve this. Only hours before they had been a happy family, and now? Their mother was trying to kill them, one of their brothers was betraying them, and all of their lives were on the line.

She didn't know how to feel about all of it. She didn't get why her mother was trying to kill them. It wasn't right. Yes, her family had done some bad things, but to be punished to death by your own mother? That wasn't right.

She wanted to hate her, but she couldn't. It was still her mother after all.

'No, it's too soon, the moon is not high enough. Go! Quickly!' Their mother yelled, her panicked voice drifting in the wind.

Her and her brothers walked up the hill to see her brother Finn standing in a pentagram, and their mother standing at the other side of it. The Bennett witches were hurrying towards the house.

'My children, come forward,' Esther said while she hurried into the pentagram, knowing that its protective barrier would keep her children from attacking her.

'Stay beside me, Mother,' Finn warned her, flames licking his face, casting shadows on stern feautures.

'It's okay. They can't enter,' she assured him.

Their mother tangled her hand together with that of Finn's.

They all walked forward, but as soon as they came too close the fire flared up. Skye glared at her mother, deciding to be angry for now.

'That's lovely. We're stuck out here, while the favorite son plays sacrificial lamb. How pathetic you are, Finn,' Kol told him.

He looked mad. Skye could only imagine how her own face was looking right now.

'Be quiet, Kol. Your brother knows virtue you cannot even imagine,' Esther reprimanded him.

Skye did her best to hold in a scoff. Finn never had much of a personality to begin with.

'Whatever you think of us, killing your own children will be an atrocity,' Elijah told their mother what they all had on their mind.

'My only regret is that I did not let you die a thousand years ago.'

Skye widened her eyes and was ready to launch at her, but the thought of feeling immense pain for trying to enter the pentagram didn't leave her mind.

Instead she opened up her mouth. 'Then why didn't you? Why curse us to this life to eventually just take it away from us?' Hurt and anger laced her voice.

"Oh, little bird. You'll understand eventually." Her mother had the guts to say.

'Enough. All this talk is boring me. End this now, Mother, or I'll send you back to Hell,' Klaus warned her dangerously.

'For a thousand years, I've been forced to watch you. Felt the pain of every victim, suffered while you shed blood,' she directed at Klaus.

Then she looked at Elijah, 'Even you, Elijah, with your claim to nobility, you're no better.'

Her eyes landed on Skye. Tears were brimming in Skye her eyes despite the anger burning her up.

Her mother held her head awry, 'I'm happy to tell you that you aren't linked. It wasn't intentional, but I'm glad it happened.'

Skye's eyes widened. They didn't deserve this. If anyone deserved it, it was her. Her brothers all glanced at her with blank expressions and she lowered her head.

Their mother directed herself to her brothers, 'All of you. You're a curse on this Earth. Stretched out over generations. If you've come to plead for your life, I'm sorry, you've wasted your time.'

Tears had now also filled her mother's eyes, but Skye didn't feel pity. She was the one trying to kill her children. Skye's siblings.

'No! Sisters! Do not abandon me!' their mother suddenly screamed and fell backwards only to be caught by Finn. They all stared at her in shock while the flames flared up.

Finn and their mother sped out of the pentagram and the others shielded their faces from the burning flames. When the flames died out, they all looked up to see there was no one there.

* * *

 

When Skye met up with Rebekah again, she chose to forgive her. She hadn't had much family left after all.

Finn and her mother were gone.

She overheard the conversation between Rebekah and Elijah and she knew he was leaving too. Kol had fled. The only ones left were her, Rebekah and Nik.

She could choose to be angry about the lack of goodbye, but her emotions were too burned out to feel anything at all.

When Bekah and Skye walked into the parlor, they saw Nik standing at the fire-place, throwing his own sketches in it, Caroline's face smoldering in the flames.

'I thought you'd have gone by now. Elijah's leaving. Kol's fled. Esther and Finn are gone too,' he said without looking up.

Both her and Rebekah were looking at his drawings. Skye had to admit he had gotten better and better at it. She once asked Niklaus to teach her how to draw but she had failed miserably.

'I hated you when I learned you killed our mother. But I realize now that after a thousand years together as a family, you and Skye are the only ones who never left me,' Rebekah told him.

Skye looked at her sister and gave her a soft smile as if saying; I'll never leave you.

'Well, aren't we a trio,' Klaus said.

Rebekah walked towards him and took her phone out of her jacket while Skye followed behind her, curious.

'There's something I need you to see,' She said while holding up her phone.

'Come to brag about your skills as a torturer?' he asked when he saw Elena on the screen.

Skye was staring at it intently, already having seen the paintings on the walls.

'Look at the images on the wall behind Elena. The Natives told the story of our family history, look at the images on the far wall,' Rebekah directed their brother.

'What is it?' Klaus asked.

'A Native worshiping at the Great White Oak tree,' Skye answered for Rebekah.

'And? We burned that tree to the ground.'

'Look at the markings that precede it. That's the native calendar,' Rebekah explained further.

'This can't be right,' Klaus said with a frown.

'A White Oak tree, 300 years after we fled back to the Old World. There must have been a sapling, a new tree to replace the old. That tree could kill us.'

'It's not over, Nik,' Skye told him.


	6. the sun also rises

A long time ago Skye promised herself to make everything out of life, but she never really got the chance to fulfill that promise. She was determent to do that now. Nothing was going to stop her. Not even the only thing that could kill her.

Right now she was soaking in the sun of the early morning, enjoying the small time she had before chaos began. The square of Mystic Falls was lovelier then she would have expected.

Powerful rays flooded over the landscape, lighting every blade of grass, shining from each leaf. It wasn't a big town square, just some trees and a patch of grass, but it looked lovely. The Mystic Grill was even visible from here.

She was sitting in the middle of the field, head thrown back and eyes closed. Her mind was clear and she was actually enjoying it.

The dress she wore, a kerchief dress in a brownish color with a belt, was flowing over her bare legs, the silky fabric soft on her flesh. Her bag was thrown carelessly next to her, and her jacket was draped over it.

Many people would be bored after ten minutes of not doing anything, but Skye liked the serene calm.

At home Rebekah was up early to find out more about the White Oak, she even made an appointment for tomorrow with Mayor Lockwood, and Nik was restless, stalking around the house and scolding her for every little thing.

She didn't blame him though, even she became restless knowing that there was still something out there people could use against her family.

A small sigh escaped her lips, she was sitting here so she didn't have to think about her family and her troubles, and all she did was think about it. How terribly humorless.

She desperately needed friends. Not that it was possible to get friends in a town where her siblings caused chaos and destruction. They were wary of her just because of them. It was unfair and she hated her family for that.

Lately all she felt was hate and it was breaking her heart. She wasn't made like that. Always trying to think the best of people and staying positive was her thing.

But ever since she came back, all she felt was a grudge against everyone.

There were 900 years she had missed of her life. Everyone else had the chance to live, but she didn't.

And she hated it, she hated it, she hated it.

She wanted to scream and throw with things. Shout at everyone and everything.

She wanted to feel. She wanted to feel love and friendship and hope. But all she felt was hate, rage, desperation.

This isn't living, she thought. This is surviving.

With a sigh she stood up, pulled on her jacket and threw her bag over her shoulder. The grill she supposed was a distraction. So that's where she went.

* * *

The grill wasn't busy, but there were certainly a few people there. Behind the bar she saw Matt Donovan and almost went to turn around, but something stopped her.

If she turned around now, then she couldn't say she had done everything to try to make friends. It was entirely in her hands now.

So, after taking a deep breath, she walked over to the bar and took a seat. It didn't take long for Matt to notice her, and when he approached her, he looked cautious.

At the ball, when Kol had almost broken the guy's hand, she had helped him bandage his hand. He had protested a bit, but she wanted to do something to ease her guilt. So she had helped him, she even offered him some blood, but obviously he refused. She didn't blame him.

Apologies for Kol had left her mouth continuously until he stopped her and said it wasn't her fault. She hadn't believed it, but she had nodded.

So when Matt stopped in front of her and asked, 'Can I help you?' she fancied a large smile.

'How's your hand?' she blurted out.

He looked at her strangely, 'Fine, thanks?'

When she still heard the caution in his voice, her shoulders deflated. Apparently the threatening of Elena's life had undone all the good she did. It only made her feel more guilty.

'I'm sorry,' she apologized.

He searched her face, 'Yeah, I'm sure you are.'

He didn't seem to believe her.

'It wasn't my fault, okay? I like Elena. The entire time I was mad at my brother and sister and I still am, but I could do nothing to stop that, don't you understand? My mother tried to kill us! That's kind of a big stab in the back.'

His eyes softened a bit, and he took a shot gloss from the bar with a bottle of whiskey. She looked at it curiously. He placed it in front of her and poured her a drink.

An eyebrow shot up, 'Isn't it a little early for alcohol?'

'You seem to need it,' he said and then he went off to help another costumer.

Her eyes followed him, but then she looked at the shot. Maybe he was right. She downed the drink.

* * *

 

The first thing she wanted to do when she saw the swivel of blonde curly hair was bang her head on the bar. Unfortunately enough, that would give her a worse headache than she already had.

She had no reason to feel so irritated, it was not like the blonde actively hated her.

Well, maybe she did, because everyone just couldn't seem to separate her from the rest of her blood shedding family. That was really starting to become an issue.

Skye let her hair fall in front of her face while she stared into her shot glass. The clicking of heels came closer and she smelled a waft of a flowery scent. The blonde strutted to the other side of the bar where Matt was helping a customer and didn't spare her a glance.

From the corner of her eye she peaked at the girl who just walked past her. Skye got why Nik fancied her.

Caroline was wearing a beautiful white lace sun dress and her hair was hanging loosely in wavy curls.

Even though Skye had blonde hair too and the occasional curls, she was nowhere near as pretty as Caroline.

Matt finished up the customer and then turned to Caroline. He gave her a soft smile and leaned over the bar so he could talk to her easier.

'How's Bonnie?' She heard him say, which made her cringe. She had heard about her mother turning into a vampire by Damon's hands.

It wasn't completely his fault, her family had a big part in it to. For a part she even blamed herself. If she hadn't been so selfish in wanting to live, Abby could have lived forth as a witch. And that was something even Skye rather had then being a vampire.

'She's doing okay, for now I think at least.' She felt a glare being directed her way and she ducked her head down again.

'I'm just here to pick up some food for me and Bonnie. We both don't rather feel like cooking,' Caroline explained. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Matt nodding his head sympathetically.

'Tell her I said she can talk to me about anything she wants.'

Caroline gave him a smile and then Skye felt eyes on her again.

Caroline leaned over the bar so she was closer to Matt and whisper hissed, 'What's she doing here?' Matt just rolled his eyes disapprovingly.

'Care, it's not her fault her siblings are a bunch of psychopaths.'

A small smile laced Skye her face, but vanished as soon as Caroline scoffed.

'Yeah, except she is one herself.'

She heard Matt let out an exhausted sigh. 'All I'm saying is that you should cut her a little slack. Her mother tried to kill her. And it wasn't like she could go against all of her siblings.'

Caroline just stayed silent, knowing she had nothing to say to that. Skye twirled around the leftover whiskey in the glass while she looked at the amber liquor swirling around.

A tingle went down her spine and she looked up. Next to her stood an apprehensive looking Caroline.

Apparently Skye had missed a part of the conversation between Matt and her, otherwise she would never willingly talk to her.

'I suppose you heard all of that?' she managed to get out.

Skye smiled weakly at her, 'A part of it.'

Caroline nodded her head and then begrudgingly took a seat beside her. Curious of why Caroline came to sit next to her, Skye turned fully so she was face to face with the blonde.

'And from what I've gathered from the conversation is that you don't like me very much, so why are you sitting here? No offence.' Skye shrugged to prove to her that she didn't personally mind.

'That's because you tried to kill Elena and are the reason that Bonnie's mom is now a vampire!' Matt sent her a warning glance and Caroline deflated.

'Sorry,' she muttered.

Skye straightened up a little. 'No, you're right. It is partly my fault. I wish it could have gone another way. But you do have to understand that it wasn't my choice. I would never willingly hurt someone.'

Caroline looked at her a bit disbelieving, so Skye hurried on. 'My family, I love them, but they make bad choices. Choices that end up hurting or killing people. In my human life I already wasn't rather fond of hurting people, so imagine having that resolve heightened. But most of my family doesn't share the same vies as me.'

Skye swallowed.

'Again, I would never willingly hurt any of your friends, but it's also impossible to go against my siblings when they want something. They are all I have. They have protected me all my life and I can't just abandon them because they do things I don't approve of.'

She shook her head and then downed the leftover of her drink.

'Always and forever. That's what we used to say,' Skye muttered and then swallowed thickly.

Misery was visible in her eyes, and the shimmering blue of her irises was extra divined. Over her speech, Caroline's face had softened a bit.

She bit her lip but then hesitantly put her hand on that of Skye's. The Original looked at her in surprise.

'I still think your siblings are a bunch of jerks but... I get where you're coming from.'

For the first time since Skye was undaggered she felt hope. Hope for a better life. Hope for friends and love, other than her family.

Softly she smiled at Caroline, but you saw the appreciation in her eyes. She thanked this girl for giving her hope in a world that was broken.

'Order for Caroline Forbes!' someone yelled from behind them. Caroline jumped out of her seat and started to walk to the guy holding her food, but she paused mid-way and turned around.

'I think you should cut back on the alcohol.'

She winked and then turned around to accept her food.

A small chuckle escaped Skye her lips and then she waved Matt over. She handed Matt the glass and just when he was about to walk away, Skye stopped him.

'Wait!' She looked down at her hands and then up to meet Matt's baby blue eyes.

'Thanks,' she muttered softly. He gave her a nod and a small smile and then walked away. Skye hoisted her bag over her shoulder and then left the grill.

* * *

 

Her whole speech about family clung to her mind and she noticed that she hadn't craved her family as much as she did now. She was still mad, but a part of it was her fault too.

The chance was big that she was back to being in danger in a little while, and she didn't want to spend that time holding a grudge for the only people she had left.

So the next stop she made was the place that held her family and in that way became her home.

Nik was in the parlor with a glass of bourbon in his hand, staring intently at the amber liquor. Skye made her way in carefully and Klaus slowly looked up.

'Hi,' she said softly.

'Skye,' he acknowledged her.

'What you doing?'

A crooked grin appeared on his face.

'I thought you left the house?' An easy way to change the subject.

Playfully she rolled her eyes. 'I had.'

But then she turned serious.

'Then I started to think. It isn't going to be long before shit hits the fan again, and I want to spend the little time of peace with the people I love.'

An amused eyebrow of Nik shot up, 'So you came to me?'

Sighing, she made her way over to him to stand in front of him.

'Lucky for you, I do love you. Always and forever, remember?'

Hastily she threw her arms around Nik and buried her head in his chest. Washing away her pain and anger with his familiar scent.

For a moment she could pretend her life wasn't all that bad. That she hadn't been in a box for more than nine hundred years. That their mother wasn't trying to kill them. That everyone in this town didn't hate her for being a Mikaelson. Just life in the purest of forms.

The chance was big that the walls of fake acceptance would be tumbling down in not so long.

But right now she was at peace, and she felt okay. Everything could turn to crap another time.


	7. everything tastes like blood

The day started out fine without lots of trouble.

She was asked to join Rebekah on her quest of finding out a bit more about the White Oak, which she politely declined. What she meant by politely was mumbling "Go away" to Rebekah while she was sprawled out on her bed.

The day before had been exhausting because of her emotional turmoil and watching classic movies that apparently she had to see to understand modern life.

Most everything was still a mystery to her, but she learned more with every passing day.

At around one o'clock she got dragged out of bed by her brother, even though she protested against all of his advances.

He just told her "to suck it up" and get her lazy ass out of bed. So she obeyed and took a much needed shower and scrubbed her leftover make-up off of her face.

After that she felt refreshed and most of her anger was washed away. She needed to stop moping and make the best of it. If she wanted to have friends then she had to prove she was worth their friendship.

So when she got a text from Bekah who asked for her help, she accepted.

* * *

 

Turned out that the files about the logging mills were owned by the Salvatore's around the 1900's, the time were the descendant of the White Oak was presumably cut according to her sister.

Rebekah needed her help with interrogating the Salvatore brothers because her sister thought they would be more willingly to talk if Skye was with. She had no idea why her sister thought that, but it didn't hurt to try.

That was why she was at the Mystic Grill at around two o'clock and being pulled into the lady's room by her sister. Skye rolled her eyes at her sister but followed.

Rebekah made sure no one was in the bathroom and then turned towards her.

'Look who finally got out of bed.'

'Well, you sounded like you were in need of my help.'

Rebekah cocked her hip and looked at her sister sternly. Skye sighed and made a motion for her to tell her the plan.

'I tried subtly asking them about the records of the logging mills, but they weren't so adamant to talk to me. Can't say I blame them, but it's annoying. So, now you get to swoop in and be the sweet little girl you are and get them to talk.'

A scoff left Skye her lips, and now she was the one cocking her hip and staring at her sister in disbelief. 'So you want to play "Good cop, bad cop"?'

That was one of the references from the movies of the night before. She liked to think she applied it quite well.

Rebekah rolled her eyes, but nodded her head and took Skye's arm, pulling her out of the bathroom. She let go, straightened her jacket and put on a charming smile.

Skye just looked at her in amusement and then marched up herself to the Salvatore's. Damon was playing darts while Stefan was casually lounging on the table.

Before the dart could hit the dart board, Skye caught it and twirled it around in between her fingers.

Rebekah walked up beside her and commented on the conversation they were having only moments before.

'That's a bit sexist. A woman could easily kill a man, with the right motivation.'

Skye nodded her head and smiled sweetly. Damon just cocked an eyebrow.

'You just—uh—don't give up, do you?' said Stefan, gazing at them both. Stefan looked sour and Skye immediately felt bad for him. That didn't stop Rebekah from being mean to him though.

'Why are you so grumpy?'

A disapproving glance wasn't enough to show Rebekah how she felt about her forwardness, but it was all she could do at the moment without steering too much of topic.

'He's on a master cleanse. Trying to be a better man and all,' Damon's cunning reply came.

'There's nothing wrong with that, you know?' Skye said in response, and then huffed because of the looks she got.

'You know, you were a lot more fun in the '20s,' Rebekah directed at the brooding Salvatore.

Skye looked at her with a blank expression and disapprovingly shook her head.

'If we have to go off on the things you see in people who are fun, than I'm glad I never met the Stefan from the '20s.'

She shot a sympathetic glance at Stefan who just waved her off.

'Stop being so self-righteous, Skye, you would have liked the Stefan from the '20s.'

Even Damon looked at Rebekah in disbelief. From what he had seen from her already, he knew that Skye didn't like bloodshed and hurting people.

He still thought that she probably was just like her siblings, just in a different way. He wasn't going to trust her anytime soon, that was for sure. No matter how good the sex might have been.

'OK, maybe you wouldn't like him,' her sister recoiled and Skye just huffed a breath.

Getting back to the conversation at hand, Damon commented on Rebekah's earlier statement.

'Don't rile him up. He's testy when he's being self-righteous.'

'I'm not being self-righteous, Damon. I'm just not interested in slaughtering innocent human beings anymore,' Stefan easily defended himself.

Skye pursed her lips together. She remembered how hard it was not to kill people after she had killed that boy. Her craving for blood had been enormous and the blood lust nearly drove her insane.

It was made even harder for her by seeing her siblings killing the entire village and the people around it, and even years after that, still killing for fun and for food.

But in those years Skye had taught herself control, it had been extremely hard, but she was determent by her vow not to kill someone. The hurting part she also didn't enjoy, but she had to get blood somehow, and back then you didn't have something as convenient as blood bags.

'Oh, okay, fair enough. My mistake,' Damon commented and then took out a brown bundled book from a bag.

'You used to be self-righteous.'

He opened the book on a certain page and started reading out loud.

'Dear diary, Damon has lost his way. Though I have pulled my own life together, he continues to waste his,' Damon drawled mockingly while Stefan just rolled his eyes.

So it was his journal.

Before she was daggered, she used to have quite a collection of journals. It helped her in letting it all out. It helped her cope. She hadn't written in one since she got back.

Still, she found it incredibly interesting that Stefan used to keep a journal, maybe still does. It made her see him in a different light, and she focused on him a bit more.

Rebekah tugged the journal out of Damon's hands.

'Ouch.'

She started to read a passage of Stefan's journal out loud just like Damon did.

'His bitterness consumes him. He is nothing but blackness and vile.'

She closed the journal and bundled it back up, 'Oh, judgy.'

'You guys do know it is rude to read other people's journal's, right?' Skye scolded.

Rebekah just rolled her eyes. 'Don't act like Mother.'

That stung. After everything, did Rebekah really think it was okay to say something like that to her?

'Please don't compare me to our mother. I'm not the one trying to kill her children,' she spat, but then bit her tongue. It's never good to let that hurt consume her. It makes her into someone she doesn't wants to be.

They all looked at her in surprise, but then Bekah's face softened and she showed an unusual kindness, at least in Stefan's and Damon's eyes.

'I know Skye, I'm sorry. You're way better than our mother will ever be.'

Skye bit her lip, but then nodded. Rebekah gave her little sisters hand a squeeze, but then composed herself. She didn't like to show vulnerability.

To steer the attention of off her and Skye she stated, 'You know, if I'm being honest, you didn't seem like much fun either, Damon.' Then she handed him the journal back.

'I wasn't. The woman I was in love with was stuck in a tomb and she wasn't getting out for a hundred years. I wasn't having any fun at all.'

He launched into a story about a woman named Sage who sounded vaguely familiar. Even though she had been in a box for more than nine hundred years, she still lived at least hundred.

While Damon recited the story about Sage, her own mind wondered to her latest memory of nine hundred years ago.

* * *

 

**YEAR 1112 – KLAUS POV**

_Seated at the table w_ _ere_ _him and his siblings. While he was discussing urgent matters, such as a certain witch who he was told held information about the sun and moon curse with his brother Elijah, his sisters were talking about nonsense and things that in his ears didn't make any sense. But that was probably due to the fact that he didn't really care._

_'Are you sure this witch knows something, brother?' Elijah questioned him and Klaus needed to resist the urge to plunge a dagger in his brother for doubting him._

_'I know what caught my ear, Elijah.'_

_Elijah nodded sternly, used to his brother his heightened anger. 'How were you planning on obtaining the information you are looking for? Witches aren't particularly fond of vampires. Especially not us Originals.'_

_In the almost hundred years Klaus was searching for information, he never had actually needed to speak to a witch. Mostly he talked to other vampires who found out things for him, he even talked to the occasional werewolf, but unfortunately some things he had to do himself._

_A malicious smirk laced his face. 'If the witch doesn't want_ _to speak with me, I have a few things in mind.'_

_The clattering of a fork on the table made the brother_ _s_ _attention turn to their sisters._

_Rebekah was looking at Skye strangely, with her mouth hanging half-open, probably in the middle of saying something._

_Skye, on the other hand, had eyes filled with rage and disbelief._

_Abruptly she stood up from the table._

_'You're not planning on torturing a witch, are you?' she seethed._

_Klaus merely raised his eyebrow at his sister's over dramatics. She had a hand of that._

_That only seemed to fuel her rage and a growl left the back of her throat. 'How dare you to even think like that! Without witches we weren't even able to protect ourselves!'_

_Now Klaus started to get mad too and he shoved his chair back and stood up._

_'Without them my werewolf side wouldn't have been suppressed,' he spat._

_Elijah and Rebekah were watching their siblings fight with concern. They still had the dagger threats vividly on their mind, and they didn't want their little sister to be stored in a box somewhere._

_A hysterical laugh left Skye her mouth as she shook her head in disbelief._

_'Your whole head is filled with your werewolf side. Isn't this enough? You are able to protect yourself! Do you want more rage inside of you? More of this hideous blood lust? You're insane.'_

_In a flash Klaus his hand was wrapped around her throat and her back was roughly shoved up against the wall. Both their observing siblings jumped up._

_Klaus moved his face directly in front of hers. 'No sister, I think you're the insane one here. Isn't it you who wakes up screaming? Isn't it you who talks to herself when no one is around? Isn't it you who wails and sobs when she saw something that wasn't there?'_

_Verbal punch after punch he threw out and Skye her breath caught in her throat while her eyes stung with tears. Then Nik knew he went too far, but he wasn't one who easily backed out._

_A hand on his shoulder made him spin around abruptly, fire in his eyes. One hand was still over Skye's throat._

_Elijah's worried gaze met his. 'Enough, Niklaus.'_

_Klaus growled, 'I say when it is enough!' He tightened his hold on her throat and Skye her breath sputtered._

_'You're hurting her!' Rebekah's frantic scream filled the room and Klaus his head shot towards his sister._

_Tears where streaming down her face and she looked at the scene in front of her in horror._

_That seemed to snap him out of his rage filled posture and he immediately let go of Skye._

_She fell to the ground gasping for air. Her hand shot to her throat and she rubbed the angry red marks while thick tears streamed down her face and her ragged breath turned in to full sobs. Rebekah was at her side in an instant and knelt next to her, rubbing her back consolingly._

_Klaus looked at the scene with tears glistening in his eyes._

_Had he really just done that?_

_As soon as Skye her sobs went over in quiet little whimpers, she heaved herself up and looked at Nik in terror._

_Rebekah glared at him, but Klaus only had eyes for the disgust in Skye her eyes, directed only at him._

_He wanted to take a step forward, but Skye stepped back and hissed at him._

_Stung, he stopped his movements and fresh tears filled Skye her eyes. In a flash she was out of the room and out of the house._

_Leaving no one else in the room but Klaus, Elijah and Rebekah._

_The first hour she was gone he hadn't been too worried. In his head he was mostly going over everything that happened again and determining where it had gone wrong._

_For a large part it had been his fault, but his sister shouldn't have went against him. He had warned his siblings plenty of times for that._

_The second hour she was gone he started pacing. She couldn't possibly be out so long, could she? Her heart was pure and innocent and he didn't want that heart to be corrupted by the outside world. He didn't like it went she went out on her own._

_He didn't want to find her again, clothes soaked in blood, sobs escaping her throat and legs giving out beneath her. Because that memory was still vividly on his mind. How his sweet little sister turned into a ravishing beast._

_The fourth hour was the worst. Pulling his hair in despair, drinking glass after glass. He sent out people to look for her but none of them had found her. His siblings had held different expressions._

_With Elijah's worried look for both Skye and Klaus and with Rebekah's hostile glare against everyone who dared to speak to her. It was her way of dealing with her worry, but he was irritated to no end._

_When the clock almost hit the five-hour mark, a m_ _an_ _clad in black came stumbling into the room, a large hole in his gut of which the blood was spilling from and the last words the man uttered were faint whisper_ _s._

_'_ _She's been taken.'_

_That's when the world collapsed._

_The hour after that he went out himself, followed by his brother and sister. It didn't take long to find her, but lots of bodies w_ _ere_ _left in his wake. His siblings_ _did_ _not dare to stop him._

_He found her bound to a pole in a hazy shack where smoke entered his lungs. The arms of his sister w_ _ere_   
_burned and sizzling. Vervain laced the ropes that attached her to the pole._

_She was drowsy, but when she saw Klaus, tears of relief filled her eyes and rolled down her cheeks._

_On his way to get to her, witches came from left and right, but he killed them all. How dare they think they could take him? How dare they hurt someone he cherished?_

_And for once Skye didn't have any response, and just watched silently while her wounds were stinging and her throat was filling itself with blood._

_When he finally did get to her he peeled off the ropes, ignoring the burn, and he scooped his sister up in his arms. Her head lulled to the side and her body deflated. Silent whispers of comfort filled her ears._

_Klaus was right beside her when she woke up, but she wanted to be alone so she could get washed up. He didn't blame her._

_Her entire bath he was staring at a certain object bundled in fabric. He considered and reconsidered till he made up his mind. He would be hated for this by his siblings, but he had to do everything to protect Skye._

_It couldn't happen again._

_So when she got out of the bath and told him he could come in again, he prepared himself._

_He wasn't only protecting her against others, he was also protecting her against himself._

_Skye was sitting on her bed, fumbling with a golden thread when he entered the room. All physical wounds were gone, but the emotional ones were still there. He stopped in the middle of the room and looked at her with worry and regret._

_Skye looked up and then flashed into his arms, burying her head in his chest. Klaus stroked her hair while he whispered word_ _s_ _of comfort._

_'Sshh, it's going to be okay. No one is going to hurt you anymore. You'll be sa_ _fe_ _.'_

_After a while Skye pulled away slightly. Her eyes were bloodshot and red marks were left were her tears had rolled down her cheeks. The argument about before long over shadowed by what she had to go through._

_What she didn't notice was the dagger in Klaus his hand. She searched his face for something that she couldn't find._

_'Thank you,' she breathed and moved forward to hug him again, but while she did that, the silver dagger moved itself in to her chest and plunged through her heart._

_A shocked gasp escaped her lips and her eyes traveled down to see her brother's hand clutched around the hilt of a gleaming dagger. Her eyes traveled to his._

_A single tear rolled down his cheek. 'I'm so sorry,' he whispered and her body became weak in his arms._

* * *

 

**BACK IN THE PRESENT**

'That sounds like Sage alright.'

Her sisters words snapped her out of her reverie.

'How did you know her?' Damon questioned. Skye would like to know too, seeing as that name sounded awfully familiar.

She wasn't as curious as she could be, with that memory still dwindling through her mind.

'She was obsessed with my brother Finn, over 900 years ago.'

Skye her head shot up. That's why the name sounded so familiar! Skye was never fond of Sage, but she liked how her brother Finn was around her, so she put up with her. It wasn't long after they met that they both left together.

'What? Creepy suicidal guy?' Damon asked in disbelief, but before one of the girls could answer, Stefan's obnoxious ticking became louder.

'You're doing it again,' Damon commented.

With her mind half there and half somewhere else, she knew she was no use, so when Stefan got up she turned to her sister. 'I have to go,' she muttered and then walked away.

Rebekah looked after her weirdly, but then focused back on the siblings in front of her. Time to get to the bottom of this.


	8. a theatre of hollowness

Love is rough. That's one thing she had known since childhood, and probably the most important life lesson anyone could learn. Without that lesson you aren't prepared for the pain love can cost you.

It wasn't like she hated love, absolutely not. She actually loved love. She believed in love.

Because if you cease to believe in love, why would you want to live? It is the one thing that makes life precious. The one thing that makes the pain worth it. Skye felt like she had so much more love to give.

The only problem was that nobody actually liked her. Not that she had tried that hard. Not that she  _could_  try that hard because all the people she knew sort of hated her and they weren't even around to befriend.

The döbbelganger seemed to be the easiest person to become friends with, but she was protected by Stefan and Damon, and seeing that they both didn't trust her one bit made her chances really bleak.

Damon was nothing other than good sex. They didn't even know each other and he definitely wasn't a person who would jump into a steady relationship. Not that she would want that. She barely knew him.

Stefan seemed to be struggling with a few things and she heard from Rebekah that after she left the Mystic Grill yesterday, that he had fed on a girl outside in an alley. Lots of struggling there.

Both the Bennet witch and Caroline Forbes weren't even in Mystic Falls. She also wasn't really feeling like bothering Matt again. That boy needed some time off.

So that only left her family. The thing was that Rebekah was so obsessed with finding out more about the White Oak that she wasn't in the mood to do anything other than that.

And Skye would rather do anything then researching the White Oak. Yesterday it only brought up bad memories. She had felt it in her sleep. Dreamed it, smelled it, heard it, tasted it. And she was back to square one once again.

Back to her state of depression and anxiety and slowly and steadily she was becoming insane all over again. Just like before she had been daggered.

The memories of what happened before then were closed off, muffled since she came back. She finally could sleep again without nightmares, she didn't hear things anymore that weren't there.

But once she thought back to nine hundred years ago it was like a door was opened, like a wall was slammed down and all the painful memories returned.

The voices hadn't returned, but the nightmares had.

That was why she had to leave. Because otherwise she would have screamed.

Klaus was off-limits to. He was still moody and you could only spend so much time with him before you wanted to pull your hair out.

So she choose to wander. There was enough of the town that she hadn't seen. From the last she heard, Rebekah was at Wickery Bridge, talking with Carol Lockwood. Again.

Apparently yesterday didn't work out as well as planned. Partly because Skye left before they even really tried to get information about the wooding mills.

It felt good to wander. To be free from watchful gazes. Back then she had a lot of people watching over her. Even after Kol and Finn went their own way.

Niklaus was always watching her like a guard dog and she could even feel Elijah's worried gaze on her most of the time.

Rebekah wasn't so arrogant back then, so she tried to make sure Skye stayed out of danger too. But since she was back their protectiveness towards her had lessened considerably.

Even though wandering around felt good, she still felt a bit abandoned. Like she wasn't important to them anymore.

Bekah left her alone all the time and brought her into dangerous situations and Nik didn't even care when she left the house. Didn't even say goodbye.

And that hurt. Big time. Maybe she was fuzzing about nothing. Maybe she was just a spoiled brat, but she was raised with constant attention. Now it was gone.

And somehow that made everything so much worse.

* * *

 

'You did what?' Disbelief laced her voice as Rebekah's words filled her ears. She knew her sister was capable of a lot of things, but sleeping with the enemy while working together with someone who only cares about herself went a bit far.

'Don't use that judgy tone on me. It worked. I know Sage is a bitch and all, but she is so head over heels for Finn that she would do anything to keep him safe. And now we know where the wood of the White Oak is. And again, I need you to help me burn it.'

Skye was stunned. How could her sister be so manipulative. How could she work together with Sage of all people? What was Sage even doing here in the first place?

'So you slept with Damon because you needed something from him?' Skye countered eventually.

Rebekah stayed silent for a minute.

'Is that the only thing that stuck with you? Not that we can burn the only weapon that can kill us?' She asked in disbelief.

Skye didn't answer and instead pursed her lips sternly.

'Wait – you don't like Damon, do you?'

Skye's eyes widened, even though Rebekah couldn't see it because they were speaking to each other over the phone. 'No!' she practically screamed.

'Then why do you care?' her sister asked bemused.

Skye huffed, 'I-I don't.' She heard her sister snort, but she chose not to comment on it.

'Just get here.'

Then she hung up.

* * *

 

The burnt wood made a huge bonfire just in front of the bridge. Both Skye and Rebekah were standing in front of the smoking mess and the crackling fire.

Skye was fixated on the pile of burning wood and tried her hardest not to glance at Rebekah. She didn't know why she cared so much, but she wasn't going to fight it. She was too tired for that.

A slamming car door broke her reverie and both she and her sister turned around to be met with the sight of Damon Salvatore. His face was set in horror and frustration.

Rebekah smiled sweetly at Damon. 'Your grand plans always seem to get ruined, don't they? Sorry to disappoint you.'

She waited a second before she added 'Again.'

Then she walked away.

Skye casted one last look at Damon, but her face was blank. Then she followed her sister.

* * *

 

People always say that family is the most important thing in the world and in a way they are right. Family is a constant. Something that is there no matter if you want it or not. There are times were you are internally grateful for your family and there are times were family sucks. This was one of those times.

Apparently Nik was tracking their brothers. He knew exactly where Kol and Elijah where, and since recently he also had obscured the information of Finn's location.

That's why they were currently in the city of Chicago.

Most correctly, Rebekah and she where in an alley listening to the conversation their brothers were having.

'Hello, Finn.' She heard Nik say.

'Hello, Niklaus. I have nothing to say to you.' That voice definitely belonged to Finn.

'Well, I'm not here to chat. I will ask you one time though, where's our mother?'

'Gone to find another way to end our abominable lives. And when she does, I will sacrifice myself all over again.'

Skye grimaced and crossed her arms over her chest. She seriously despised her family sometimes.

'Well, how fortunate that I found you, I require your assistance.'

'I have no wish to help you. Only to see you dead,' Finn spat harshly.

'Right, well, that's the thing; you see, you won't be able to see me dead, because if I die, then you die. So, wish unfulfilled, I'm afraid.'

'Oh, bother someone else with your hollowed charms, Niklaus.'

'Why? Why not come bother my big brother? I need you to accompany me back to Mystic Falls, I have a witch there who can help undo Esther's spell that linked us together.'

Skye had always been impressed by the way Nik seemed to go from cocky and sassy to dangerous and threatening in a single second.

'I have no wish to be unlinked,' Finn uttered heatedly.

'Again with the wishes. Let me rephrase, you will come back with me or I will put you back in that coffin in which you rotted for 900 years.'

At this she scowls. Always with the dagger threats.

'What happens to one, happens to all. You may not feel the effects of the dagger, but you'd lose your precious Rebekah.'

'Wouldn't be the first time. And besides, I would still have Skye. Mother didn't link her, remember?'

She didn't hear Finn say something back, but in a span of a few seconds Finn flashed in to the alley she and Rebekah where occupying.

The cold wind was biting against her skin and she scolded herself for wearing a dress made out of thin fabric.

'Let's not make this any worse than it has to be, darling brother,' Rebekah said sweetly.

'You're siding with him? Rebekah, Skye, he stored us in boxes'

A hysterical laugh escaped Skye her mouth. 'Says the guy who is trying to kill his family.'

A flash of anger crossed over her eyes as she took a step towards him.

'I won't ever forgive you, Finn.'

Behind Finn her other brother spoke up, 'Tsk, don't invoke him, darling.'

Skye gritted her teeth but took a step back.

Finn turned around, 'What are you gonna do? Kill me?' He asked in disbelief.

'Oh yeah, that's right, you've got a death wish. Fine, pathetic, but fine. The thing is, I'm not gonna let you take the rest of us down with you.'

Klaus grabbed Finn by his jacket and pushed him against one wall of the alley and then the other one.

Finn crumpled to the ground in pain and Skye had to stop herself from helping him. Somehow she still couldn't stand to see him get hurt. It was family after all.

Klaus turned to look at them with a grin on his face.

* * *

 

Elena, Stefan, Damon, Caroline and Matt were all huddled together in the woods, discussing ways to kill the Originals with the leftover White Oak they had found.

'Klaus has always been one step ahead of us, but now we have the advantage. We're all armed and almost all of them are linked, meaning we only need to kill one of them. We need to seize the best opportunity, which means we need to prepare for every opportunity,' Stefan told them.

'Scenario number one,' Said Damon as he grabbed Elena and moved her over so that she was standing in front of him.

'You get to play Klaus.'

Damon grinned but backed away when Elena pulled her arms from his grip.

'Okay,' She gave a slight nod.

'Rebekah is our target so we distract her and catch her off guard. To do that we need to keep Klaus separate and occupied.'

Stefan looked at Caroline.

'Caroline,' he addressed her.

'Why do I always have to be Klaus bait?' she said while looking affronted.

'Because he's obsessed with you,' Damon told her with a smirk.

Damon walked over to Caroline and pushed her forward a bit.

'But for right now we need you to play Rebekah. We use the quarterback to distract her. Just keep her talking.'

'What about Skye?' asked Matt and all he got back were blank stares. He shuffled on his feet but explained.

'I know she isn't linked with the rest of them, but I'm sure she wants to protect her family. So what are we going to do about her?' That was one thing they didn't think about.

'Hm. Didn't think about that,' Damon mused. Matt looked at him with a grimace.

'We are not killing her!' he threw in when he saw Damon form the word kill.

Now everyone was looking at Matt in confusion.

'Since when do you care, busboy?'

Matt clenched his lips. 'Because she hasn't done anything yet, and from all the Originals she seems like the nicest one.'

Elena looked at him with guilt. 'She will kill us when she finds out we killed her family, Matt.'

Matt didn't have anything to say to that because he knew she was right. Skye would choose her family no matter what.

'Well, we figure the details about that out later,' Damon said and then continued with his instructions.

* * *

 

The drive home was unsettling with an unconscious Finn in the backseat of which she had to keep snapping the neck.

Tension hung in the air and when Skye wasn't snapping any necks, she was staring moodily out of the window. She was mad at Finn for wanting to kill her siblings.

She wasn't particularly affected by the linking spell, but she did take it personal because the only reason she wasn't linked was on accident.

Her mother still wanted her death. Her brother still wanted to help her with that. And that was sick. Never had she felt this kind of rage. It was pure and it was rough and it made her want to kill someone. But she had to settle for snapping Finn's neck once every half-hour.

When they finally arrived home, she still felt weird calling it that, Klaus threw Finn into the foyer while her siblings and she followed. Finn had barely woken up when his body hit the floor.

'Gather your witch. Let's get his blood and get on with it,' Rebekah said impatiently.

'You can't force me to help you,' Finn spat and Skye raised her eyebrows.

They certainly could. Well, Klaus could. She still didn't enjoy executing pain. The snapping of his neck had just been necessary and pretty painless.

'Oh, I most likely could, but why force when I can persuade?' Klaus grinned menacingly and pointed his hand towards the big staircase.

Walking down it was Sage, her hair like a burning flame while she was clothed in black. She wore an expression of disbelief, much like Finn's.

'Hello, Finn,' She said as she smiled.

'Sage,' muttered Finn and he crawled up quickly.

They rushed over to each other and then embraced. Even though Skye disliked Sage, she still always liked her brother when he was with her. He became less arrogant. More passionate.

'What do you know, true love prevails,' Rebekah's tone dripped with sarcasm and Skye snorted.

From the corners of her eyes she saw Klaus pull out his phone and type something in, probably replying to a text.

'It does occasionally have its uses,' He retorted.

He then looked up and smiled, 'Easier than torturing him.'

Skye just raised her eyebrows with an amused expression. Torturing wasn't really high on her list of favorable things, but that didn't mean she didn't understand how her brother felt.

'I have something to do. What do you need from me for this spell?' Rebekah directed at Klaus.

'Just your blood and your blessing. Where are you going?' He asked.

Skye looked at Bekah curiously, but she thought she had an idea of what she was planning.

'I have some unfinished business with Damon Salvatore. Ask Sage what he did to me. Then you'll understand why retribution is in order,' She turned to leave but Skye stopped her.

'Come on, don't I at least get a hug before you go on a revenge mission?' Rebekah rolled her eyes but hugged her all the same. It was a quick hug, but it made Skye feel a bit better. Rebekah knew that.

Nik watched them with slightly squinted eyes, but his gaze was mostly focused on his youngest sister.

He was wondering if she still had the same episodes as she had before he daggered her. He hadn't seen any, but that didn't mean she didn't have them anymore.

She could have had them when she was alone, and she was most of the time. He really needed to do something about that.

Rebekah left after that. Klaus waved Sage and Finn off and they also left, but not before Finn gave a bit of his blood.

'Who's the witch actually?' Skye asked Nik when they were alone. He walked over to a room and she followed.

'Bonnie Bennet.'

He swung open the door to reveal Bonnie sitting on a couch, desperation clear in her eyes, mixed with something Skye could assume was anger.

She twirled around to face her brother.

'I thought we had a fight over this more than nine hundred years ago, didn't we?' She hissed.

Bonnie turned around to look at them, while Klaus raised one eyebrow, 'Are we going at this again?'

Furious. That's what she was.

'Yes, seeing that we never quite ended that discussion because you were strangling me. And oh, don't forget, after that I got kidnapped and tortured and worst of all, you freaking daggered me!' She snapped with resentment.

She had tried her hardest to let that event slide, but ever since she thought about it that day in the grill it was like an open wound.

Nik needed to purse his lips to make sure he didn't do anything he would regret.

'And if I recall, that discussion was about torturing witches and as you can see, I'm not torturing her.' He made a motion towards Bonnie who looked rather pissed.

Skye just scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

'You're not going to hurt her,' She said with finality and then let herself drop on the unoccupied couch.

Klaus just rolled his eyes at his sisters dramatics and then dropped a grimoire in front of Bonnie.

'In here is the spell. Find it.'

Then Klaus left with one last warning glare at his baby sister.

For a second, both Bonnie and Skye were silent.

Skye had never spoken to Bonnie before, so she felt uncomfortable. Bonnie was just glaring at her. It's not like Skye wanted for this to happen. She actually had an admiration for witches.

Before she was turned she started to show signs of magic, being the seventh child only made those powers come out earlier. It was something she always was interested in and she thought of witches as heroes. They were creatures of nature. Not like her. She was an abomination.

Skye often wished that she never would have become a vampire. Then she would have been a witch. One with nature and the living. Now she was just a blood thirsty monster.

'I'm sorry for my brother,' Skye said quietly.

Bonnie didn't answer and started to shuffle through the pages of the grimoire. She bit her lip and considered leaving, but it seemed unfair of her.

'Why are you doing this?' she asked.

The head of the Bennet witch snapped up.

'Why am I doing this? Your brother is going to kill my friends if I don't.'

Skye winced and closed her eyes briefly.

'He is such a dick,' She muttered under her breath.

'Tell me about it,' Bonnie snorted and then they both looked at each other in surprise.

Skye didn't know what it was. In a way she felt connected to Bonnie. Maybe it was because Skye would have been a witch herself and that made her feel connected with other witches. Maybe it was because they both had to deal with so much despair and pain in their life.

Or maybe it was just that she could level with this girl. That she could understand her.

Both of them were too young for this life. Too vulnerable. They should have had a youth. They shouldn't have to live with this constant danger above their heads, the constant threats and the constant second guessing. So in a way she felt connected with Bonnie.

'My mother is a vampire because of you,' Bonnie said quietly.

Skye slowly nodded her head.

'I know. And I'm sorry. Me and my family never should have pulled you into this. You guys don't deserve anything we do to you.' She swallowed.

'I'd rather would have been death than a vampire,' she breathed out eventually, thinking that personal information might get the witch to trust her a bit more.

Bonnie looked at her in surprise.

Skye smiled gently at her.

'I used to be a witch, you know? I wasn't that powerful yet, I just obtained my magic before I was turned in to a vampire, but I loved it. The way it makes you feel. Like your connected with nature. Magic washes a wave of calm over you. Using it... it feels like the stroking of a butterflies wings. And when you use a powerful spell, you feel like you can fly.'

She smiled wistfully. 'I would do anything in the world to get that back.'

'I get what you mean,' Bonnie said, the hostility lessened. She was still wary, but she had heard about Skye from Esther and seeing her, she could see that Skye was the kindest Original.

Skye looked at Bonnie with a sense of urgency.

'I would look in to that grimoire before Klaus gets back. There's only so much I can do to keep him at bay.'

So that's what Bonnie did.


	9. think of me as a dead language

Pain. It was something she was used to. Even with an extremely careful life, she still had her fair share of pain. First she lost her fiancé, then her brother, then her mom. She had to deal with a vengeful father, a psychopathic family and her own demons.

But most of her life she hadn't had the chance to get hurt. She was grateful for that, because if she had lived those years, she had a lot more to add to the list of pain. But on the other end she hated it.

A part of her life was ripped away from her.

A part in where she could have been  _someone._ A part where she could have learned things. She also hated that she hadn't felt the pain she was supposed to feel.

Because those are the things that shape you into a person were you can be proud of. She wasn't proud of herself.

So something went wrong there. Obviously.

About half an hour later, Bonnie had found the spell. Skye had helped her a bit, but Bonnie did most of it by herself.

It was a pretty difficult spell and Skye saw that Bonnie was doubting herself. She tried to encourage her, but it didn't seem to work that well.

Her current words of encouragement were interrupted by the voice of her brother.

'Tick tock. I should hear chanting by now.'

Both she and Bonnie glared at him.

'I'm still studying the unlinking spell. It's not that easy, especially under duress,' The witch snapped and Skye winced.

It was only a reminder that Bonnie wasn't doing this willingly. Her brother was threatening the people she loved.

'You've been warned. If you're looking for a way to send for help, I will kill anyone who comes to your rescue.'

Skye stood up from the couch she had been occupying and walked over to Bonnie.

'It's the spell, Nik. I've been with her this entire time and I'm hundred percent certain this is the spell.'

Bonnie nodded.

'This is the spell. I just don't know if I'm strong enough.' Bonnie stood up and moved away from both of them.

'Than you should have a little more faith in yourself, Bonnie.' Klaus moved towards Bonnie, clearly disrespecting her need of space.

'Your energy helped my mother link us. Honestly, I think someone isn't trying very hard. Very well.'

When Klaus pulled out his phone and started calling someone, Skye moved towards him in curiosity. She was shocked to hear the voice of her fled brother Kol.

Her relationship with Kol had always been a playful one. He was probably the brother who wanted her to have fun more than he wanted her to be safe. He still wanted her to be safe, of course, but he thought that fun just included a bit of danger and as long as she was with him when they were doing dangerous stuff it was okay.

Skye had always gone to Kol when she wanted to sneak out and do something fun. It kind of made them bond. She missed him.

'Kol. How's the weather up there in Mile High City? And how's our friend? May I see him?'

Skye tilted her head to the side, curious of who they were talking. She casted a glance at Bonnie to see that the witch looked rather frazzled and confused.

Niklaus walked towards them and held up his phone for Bonnie to see. On the phone was a live video of a boy about her age with brown locks, playing with a golden retriever.

Apparently Bonnie knew this boy, because when she looked at her for a reaction, she saw her looking quite shocked.

Horror washed over Skye her face at the realization that this was someone Bonnie cared about.

'There's Jeremy, playing fetch with his new puppy. Oh, isn't that just the most adorable thing you've ever seen?' He pulled the phone away.

Now it came to her in full force. This was another threat of him. From Bonnie's reaction Skye could see that the boy, Jeremy, meant a lot to her, she probably loved him. And her brother was threatening to hurt him, to hurt someone Bonnie deeply loved.

It made Skye sick to her stomach.

'Thank you, Kol, we'll be in touch.' He hung up.

'So, Bonnie, how about that spell?' He grinned menacingly and Skye had to try her hardest not to launch at him.

She hated that Klaus just threw around threats. It wasn't the brother she loved. It wasn't  _her_  brother. Her brother never would have tossed away the love of others like it was nothing.

Bonnie moved towards the grimoire again to try to get the spell right.

Klaus leaned against the door post and Skye walked to stand beside him.

'Why didn't you tell me about Kol?' She hissed.

Her brother merely raised an eyebrow, 'I didn't think that was important?'

Skye scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, 'Of course it is important. You're basically holding that boy hostage.'

Klaus turned to her with a dangerous glint in his eyes, 'So this isn't about Kol. Since when did you get so buddy buddy with the town folks here?' He questioned.

'Since you decided to threaten them and kill them the entire time,' She snapped back.

'Don't give them your sympathy. They're trying to kill us.'

Skye pursed her lips in anger. Didn't he get it? The only reason they wanted them death was because they gave them a reason to.

Before she could respond back, a painful grunt slash scream ripped through the air and Skye her head snapped up. She had been so focused on Bonnie that she hadn't heard what was going on around her.

Bonnie turned around to look at Klaus, 'What was that?'

Skye looked at her brother too.

'I wouldn't let it bother you, love.'

Bonnie was practically seething with anger and Skye could relate.

'Well, it does bother me. You bother me. Well, you use people to get what you want, it's not right.'

Skye had to agree with that. Using people was never right.

'You're being emotional, Bonnie. I understand that things have been rough for you. You know, with your mother leaving. Again. It's very sad. I can help you find her, if you want. I have people who can find people who can bring her back to you. Or, if you choose, I can just bring parts of her back.'

Klaus had moved towards her again while he was speaking.

Skye hadn't known about her mother leaving, so her face turned sad. She understood Bonnie's emotional turmoil now.

Bonnie pushed Klaus away from her.

'Isn't it obvious that I'm just gonna continue to hurt the people you love until you do the spell? Now, I know it's in the grimoire and I know it requires the blood of my siblings, so here we are.'

Klaus walked to a table in the corner and got a dark brown case from it and then showed the contents. The box contained four vials of blood. Every single one of them filled with the blood of her siblings.

'Elijah. Rebekah. Kol. Finn.' He pointed to every assigned bottle.

It was weird not hearing her name in the list of siblings, but she hadn't been a literal part of the spell.

Klaus bit his hand and held his bloody hand clenched in a fist and looked at Bonnie.

'Where do you want this?' He smirked.

Bonnie looked away but grabbed a glass, holding it under Klaus' hand so his blood could drip into it. She placed the goblet onto the table and then looked at Skye.

She blinked and then frowned, 'Me? I'm not even linked.'

Bonnie shrugged, 'The spell says it needs to contain all the blood of the same generation. It doesn't matter that you aren't linked. The spell was bound partly with Elena's blood, but also that of your brother Finn's,' She explained.

Klaus looked at Skye and made a motion for her to get on with it. She glared at him but obeyed.

Her fangs dropped out and she then pierced them through the smooth skin of her wrist. The wound welled up and she removed her fangs, quickly pulling them back in.

Bonnie held out the glass that also contained the blood of Klaus, and Skye let her blood mix with that of his. The wound healed shortly after.

Then Bonnie turned back to the table and poured the other bottles of red liquid into the goblet while she started to chant in Latin. When every ounce of blood was mixed with each other she poured it onto the table, her voice increasing volume.

The blood started to disperse into six different circles as Bonnie continued to chant.

Skye watched in fascination. The flames flared up. The large pool of blood had become six separate pools of blood that were moving away from each other.

Eventually Bonnie stopped chanting.

An unsettling feeling washed over Skye and she frowned. Tears suddenly began to fill her eyes and she blinked them away. Where did that come from?

* * *

 

Since the spell was done, they escorted Bonnie away, seeing that she wanted to leave as soon as possible. They entered the foyer and the first thing that Skye noticed was the smell of blood. But it wasn't the smell of human blood which she was grateful for.

Her attention got drawn to her sister when she walked out of the ballroom with a bloody rag in her hands.

'Aw, leaving so soon?' Rebekah cooed.

'Sister. Be nice,' Klaus warned.

'Thank you, Bonnie. See you in Physics class.' The thanks sounded mocking even to her ears. Rebekah walked away. The empty space gave her a good vision of what was happening in the hallway.

'Oh my god,' Skye gasped just when Bonnie muttered words in comparison.

Damon Salvatore was hanging in snares with his black blouse ripped open. His body was hanging limp in the snares and blood was dripping down his lifeless form.

'Yeah, you'll have to excuse the mess. Apparently Damon hurt her feelings. Go on, help him. Save the man who turned your mother into a vampire.' Klaus smirked.

Bonnie looked at Damon, but then turned her eyes away. Just when she was about to step back, Skye broke her gaze from the hanging man and grabbed Bonnie's wrist.

'Before you leave, I want you to think about the fact that it could have been anybody to turn your mother into a vampire. It could have been Stefan or Caroline. Don't let yourself be blinded with rage. Don't become someone you aren't, Bonnie.'

She dropped Bonnie's wrist.

Bonnie searched her face and then casted one last look at Damon.

'I will tell the others he is here.' Then she walked away, followed by Klaus escorting her out.

Skye looked after her, but then walked into the ballroom towards Damon.

Rebekah was bleeding him out of vervain. A grimace laced her face and she reached towards the snares, but stopped half way. Rebekah would kill her if she let him out. She closed her eyes for a second. She didn't know what to do.

Her morals were being bend over and over. And to top it all off she had this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach like something was missing. She opened her eyes again and moved her wrist to her mouth for the second time that day.

Her fangs pierced through her flesh and then she pulled away. She moved her wrist to Damon's mouth and pushed it against his lips.

At first he didn't respond, but then he started sucking the blood as best as he could without his hands being there to help him. After a few minutes, he pulled away and stared at Skye.

'Why did you do that?' He croaked out. She smiled softly at him, but it didn't reach her eyes.

'I'm not all bad, Damon,' She said and then stroked his cheek with her hand.

'I'm sorry for what my sister is doing to you, but I can't let you out. There is a lot of family drama going on and I don't want to make it any worse.'

She stepped away from him and smiled at him once more. She left the ballroom.

* * *

 

Her room was an escape for many things. No matter if it was a temporary room or a permanent room. It was hers, so she could let everything out in that place. And she was so damn sad at the moment that she needed her room as an escape.

The feeling of dread didn't seem to go away and her insides were being eaten by guilt.

She should have freed Damon. Damn the consequences. Because this person she was now wasn't her. She used to be kind and compassionate and gentle.

She always saw the good in people, felt sympathy towards them and got a high out of helping someone.

But now she walked away from a man being hung by bear traps, she didn't tell Bonnie she didn't have to do the unlinking spell, she hadn't stopped Klaus from threatening the people she loved.

All those things were things she usually would have done. Though everything just seemed to be crap now.

She didn't feel normal.

Which normal person had nightmares every night?

Which normal person resented her family?

It was an endless circle of not normal. She had thought that all of it ended because the days after she got out of the box were peacefully quiet. Of course it had to be too good to be through. Her whole life was a mess.

Her sister always was the one who loved to easily. Skye was the one who trusted to easily. Both were dangerous. Both were admirable.

She always felt like she wasn't worth anything that was given to her. She wasn't worth their protectiveness. She realized that now.

There was a lot of herself that she needed to change to become someone worth loving.

But at the moment she was too tired for that.

* * *

 

'Klaus, I'm here! Let's do this.' Those words made her spring into action.

She met her siblings in the hallway and together they walked inside of the ballroom.

Damon was still hanging on the traps, but this time Stefan was in the room too.

'Oh good, a hero. What do you want?' Klaus asked amused. Stefan walked towards Klaus and dropped a bag at his feet.

'I'm here to make a deal,' He told them.

'Stefan, what are you doing?' Damon asked behind them in a panic.

Skye bend down to open the bag and gasped when she saw the content.

'Eight stakes made of white oak. The part of Wickery Bridge that you forgot to burn.' Klaus glared at his sisters, but they were too shocked to be offended.

'That's impossible,' Rebekah said disbelieving.

'Actually, it's not. Finn is dead.' Skye's eyes widened and everything around her got muffled.

Her brother was dead. Her big brother was  _dead_. The one who always talked to her with reason wasn't there anymore. Just when he was starting to become helpful and maybe trying to fix their broken relationship, he died.

That knowledge made her insides crumble and she didn't hear anything else that was being said anymore.

She took a stumbling step back, tears filling her eyes and rolling down her cheeks in an instant. Fuck everything else that was happening right now. Her brother was death. That dreadful feeling had been a warning. She hadn't felt that for nothing.

Stumbling, she rushed out of the room into the parlor and there she dropped to the floor. Sobs racked her body that was trembling on the carpet. She wrapped her arms around her knees and buried her head between her legs.

She couldn't believe Finn was dead.

An empty hole settled in her stomach and she bit her lip until she could taste pennies.

After a little while she stood up with trembling legs, and dropped down on the couch.

Her face had been curved into an emotionless mask. She often tended to shut down when everything became too much.

A little while after that Rebekah and Klaus walked into the room. Rebekah immediately walked over to Skye and pulled her up.

Skye let her, and before she knew it she was enveloped in a hug. Skye just stood there, feeling numb.

Rebekah stepped back and then turned to Klaus, 'I can't believe Finn is dead.'

'Good riddance. He was an embarrassment, Rebekah.'

Skye hissed.

'He was still your brother. Mind your tongue,' Rebekah scolded him with hurt in her tone.

She glanced quickly at Skye before looking at Nik again.

'Fine. Let's all say a prayer for Finn, who slept in a box longer than he lived as a man. He was a lovesick fool. He's better off in death.'

Skye tensed and she could feel her fangs come out and noticed the veins under her eyes pulse. Rebekah stepped towards their brother.

'Is that how you would speak of me if I died?' Rebekah questioned.

'Well, you let the Salvatore's loose with two stakes that can kill us, so I guess we'll find out soon enough. And since when did you have a soft spot for them?' Klaus asked her with hostility.

'The Salvatore's may fight like dogs, but in the end they would die for each other. At least they know what family means. You destroyed ours.'

That was a slap to Skye's face even though it was directed at Klaus. Because Rebekah was right. Klaus did destroy their family.

He killed their mother, he was hell bend on breaking his curse and he daggered each one of them when they went up against him.

This dysfunctional family was dysfunctional because of him.

'I wanted a family. They just didn't want me, and now we're unlinked we're no longer responsible for each other.'

Skye closed her eyes but then opened them again with new determination. She stepped towards her fighting siblings, 'You're right.'

The heads of her siblings snapped towards her.

'And that means you no longer need me here. I'm going to go my own way. Live a life in which people don't hate me just because I'm related to  _you_.' She spat. Then she turned to Rebekah.

'I'm sorry, but I can't be with any one of you. Every time I need to bend my morals to stand by this family.' She shook her head. 'No longer.'

She brushed a piece of hair behind her ear and walked to the exit of the foyer.

'So you're just leaving?' Her sisters voice stopped her.

Still with her back turned to them, she responded. 'Yes.'

Then she left.


	10. we still fall

When she made the decision to leave, she hadn't really been thinking everything through. Even now she wasn't really thinking rationally. In a way she had thought someone would come after her.

She had always thought that her family was the only thing that would be forever. It was a childish thought.

Nothing was consistent and nothing lasts forever.

Family didn't. Love didn't. And that scared her.

The thought of living her immortal life alone scared her to death. When she walked away she hadn't been thinking. She just wanted to be away from the poison that was her family, but she hadn't thought that she was actually  _leaving_  them.

That thought only sunk in when she was walking through the streets of Mystic Falls with nowhere to go. Her home was gone. She had nothing. Not even a family.

Her mind was going crazy and even though she was a vampire, the cold was catching up to her. When she left the house she hadn't thought of changing out of her lounge clothes. She had no money on hand and she couldn't even leave the city because she had no idea where everything was.

Being in a box for more than nine hundred years left you without any sense of how the world had changed. She knew there were cities bigger than this one, but she had no idea where they were or even their names, and because she couldn't possibly sleep on the street, she had only one place to go.

And somehow she didn't think she was welcome there either.

* * *

 

Skye hopped from one leg to another while waiting for someone to open the door. With her vampire hearing she could hear heavy footsteps before the door swept open before her.

A weak smile appeared on her face as the blonde shuffled on her feet.

In the door stood none other than Damon Salvatore.

He looked apprehensive at seeing her and she noticed he was about to throw the door in her face.

'I know you have no reason to trust me,' she spoke up quickly.

Damon raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms over each other, 'So what are you doing here?'

Skye swallowed and clasped her hands together tightly.

'I left.'

He looked at her like she wasn't making any sense, 'You left? Where?'

She looked away for a second and prepared for the worst.

'Home. Klaus and Rebekah.'

He looked surprised and she almost laughed, wasn't it for the fact that she was close to tears.

He looked like he wanted to ask her why, but instead he asked, 'And what has that to do with me?'

She bit her lip, 'I need somewhere to stay.'

This time he actually did laugh, and Skye couldn't help but cringe.

He mockingly pointed to himself, 'You want to stay here? You'll probably kill us in our sleep. You're right, I don't trust you.'

He went to close the door, but her hand shot out and grabbed a hold of it.

Damon rolled his eyes.

'I know, but I have nowhere to go, Damon. I'm alone. I have absolutely no reason to try and kill you.'

She swallowed again, 'I could have killed you once. I didn't.'

Her last statement pointed to the fact that she hadn't killed him after they had slept together. Neither did she do anything to aid Rebekah in her punishment towards him.

She had even helped by giving him her blood.

He narrowed his eyes and studied her, 'What do I get out of it?'

For a moment she was silent and he smirked, 'You can't possibly think that you can just stay here without some sort of payment.'

She knew he was right, but that didn't stop her from feeling annoyed.

'The chance is bigger that you will kill me in my sleep, than me killing you,' she spat with irritation heavy on her tongue.

That only made Damon smirk harder, 'Bye, bye,' he waved his fingers to emphasis his statement.

The door was almost closed when she said, 'Wait.'

With a grin he opened the door wider again.

'Yes, Skye?' he said sweetly.

She bit her tongue and sighed.

'Seeing that Klaus hasn't gotten his stakes back yet, I'm assuming you are at least missing one.'

Damon went to protest, but she silenced him.

'If you don't have it by the time he comes here to demand the stakes back, I will help you.'

She breathed in through her nose and breathed out through her mouth, 'I will stall him to give you guys more time.'

This made Damon's face almost split because of how big he was grinning.

He stepped aside and made a motion for her to come in.

With a relieved sigh she stepped inside of the warmth.

Before she could take another step, Damon held her by the throat and pushed her against the wall.

She gasped for breath and clawed at his hands to get some air into her lungs.

He brought his face close to her, 'I hope for you that you weren't lying.'

Fire erupted from within her and with one swift motion he was the one against the wall and with a hand around his throat.

Damon glared at her and tried to push her back but she tightened her hold.

'You have no right to threaten me. I have done nothing to you. I'm a guest in this house and I will behave, but don't even think for one second that I can't beat you.'

He was turning blue by now, but Skye only let go when she was sure she had made her point.

Skye gathered herself rather quickly, while Damon was gasping for air. He rubbed his throat and looked up at her with a pained smirk, 'Noted.'

* * *

 

The room she got assigned to wasn't as large as the one she had gotten from Klaus, but she didn't truly mind.

She could hear the bickering of Damon and Stefan downstairs.

Skye had gathered the information that Alaric, their history teacher and weird friend/guardian, had an evil alter ego that had hidden the White Oak Stake he had in his possession prior of finding out about this alter ego.

They had him locked up in the cellar downstairs and were waiting until the bad side of Alaric showed up so that they could question him about the location of the stake.

This information wasn't shared with her willingly. She had to do a lot of prying, what almost made Damon want to throw her out of the house again.

Stefan and Damon's argument went from her to Alaric and back the entire time. She tried not to listen.

With crossed legs she was sitting on a bed with satin sheets. They probably belonged to Damon.

Her eyes roamed the room, but she wasn't really looking.

Now she was alone the full weight of her decision crashed down on her. She had left her family for people who killed her brother.

Granted, her brother was a dull person that wanted to help their mother kill his entire family, but still.

Thinking rationally never had been her best quality.

Without her notice, the fighting downstairs had stopped. Her door creaked open and she looked up.

In the doorway stood Stefan, his arms crossed over his chest.

His eyes roamed over her body, not in a sexual way, he was just studying her, trying to find ulterior motives.

'Thanks for letting me stay here,' she spoke quietly.

He nodded.

She sighed.

'I have no ill intentions. I already told Damon that.'

Stefan hesitated for a second but then nodded towards her, 'You need some different clothes?'

Her eyes traveled down towards her clothes at his words. A pink sweater and gray leggings.

With a sheepish smile she looked back at Stefan, 'If it isn't too much trouble.'

He uncrossed his arms and stood upright, 'I'll be right back.'

She watched him leave before she stood up from the bed, walking towards the mirror in the corner of the room.

The black ribbon that was holding her hair back was undone easily and she shook her hair so that it fell loosely around her face.

Red tear marks were visible on her face and she scrubbed at them with her hand.

The scrubbing became more determined and furious. Tears pooled in her eyes again and made everything blurry.

The scraping of a throat interrupted her. Her hand stilled and then dropped towards her side.

She blinked the tears away and turned to Stefan with a watery smile.

He was holding a bundle of clothes in his arms and he seemed quite uncomfortable seeing her almost having a mental breakdown.

With wobbly legs she walked towards the boy and took the clothes.

'Thanks.'

She laid them out on the bed and turned back to Stefan, who was now scratching the back of his neck.

'You can ask.'

He looked at her questioningly.

'Why I left them and why I'm staying here instead of leaving town,' she explained. The girl let her body fall back on the bed.

'It does seem... strange,' Stefan uttered cautiously.

He took a few steps further into the room and Skye patted the bed next to her. He hesitated but then moved towards her and took a seat next to her.

Skye looked in front of her.

'All my life I've been protected by my family. They took the beatings for me. And I'm thankful for that, really.'

She looked back at Stefan.

'But by being protected as much as I was, I've been smothered. They didn't allow growth. Nik daggered me as the first family member to be daggered. I've been in a box for more than nine hundred years. And while my siblings got out once in a while, I never did.'

It was weird talking about this to Stefan. She barely knew him, but in a way, she felt understood by him.

'It's strange. You guys killed my brother. You guys want to kill  _me_. But when I thought of somewhere to go, the only place I could think of was here. And I think that's because you guys are as broken as me.'

Stefan frowned.

'My family ruined me because they loved me. They ruined each other and they fell apart. You and Damon, you ruined each other, but you didn't fell apart. You found something to live for. You guys did good. Everything that has been done to you, you let it made you for the better. My family didn't.'

A lone tear streamed down her face and she embarrassingly wiped it away.

'Before I left, Rebekah said something to my brother that made me see things differently.'

She thought back to the words that had flipped a switch inside of her.

"The Salvatores may fight like dogs, but in the end they would die for each other. At least they know what family means. You destroyed ours," quoted Skye.

Her eyes searched Stefan's face.

'You have what I want more than anything. You have a family that puts the other before themselves. You have the life I was robbed of.'

* * *

 

After the strange talk with Stefan, the girl took a shower and dressed in her borrowed clothes.

She could see they belonged to Elena.

She had gotten a simple white tee and blue jeans. It wasn't her style, but it did fit. She wasn't allowed to be picky now.

Her throat burned and she knew she had to drink soon. She always tried to divert the blood drinking for as long as she could, but eventually she always had to drink.

With that in mind she walked downstairs to see Elena and the Salvatore brothers talking to each other.

When she was in the shower, she had already heard Stefan telling Elena about Skye staying here for a while.

At first Elena had been wary and worried, but eventually she decided that Skye could be helpful. Skye thought Elena also took pity on her. She didn't truly care.

The moment Skye stepped into the room, their eyes moved to her.

'You're wearing my clothes,' were the first words that left Elena's lips when she spotted her.

Damon smirked and swirled his whiskey while Stefan looked a bit guilty.

When Elena caught sight of their expressions, she shook her head, 'I don't mind.'

A grateful smile laced Skye's face, but being so close to a human only made her throat burn more.

She turned to the boys and swallowed, 'Is it possible for me to get a little blood?'

Her cheeks became red with embarrassment. Even though she had been a vampire for more than a thousand years, she had never gotten over the fact that she needed blood to survive.

'Now you want our blood too?' Damon teased with a smirk. If it wasn't for the fact Damon had been joking, she would have thrown up right then and there.

'It's in the cellar,' Stefan told her. She nodded and took a step towards the hallway, but Elena's voice stopped her.

'I'll go get it for you. I need to give Alaric a few things anyway.'

She held up a bag that Skye hadn't noticed before.

Skye threw a glance to the brothers to see if they were okay with it and seeing they were, she nodded to the brown-haired girl. Skye could see her taking a liking to Elena already.

When Elena was out of the room, Damon turned to his brother.

'I'll go get my stuff.'

That left Skye and Stefan alone in the room. The girl took a seat but felt a little intrusive.

On the fireplace laid a White Oak Stake which made her even more uncomfortable. She knew they wouldn't get anything out of killing her, but it was still weird to be in a room with one of the only weapons that could kill her.

Stefan moved to the fireplace and stared broodingly into the flames while waiting for the others to return.

Not much later Damon came back downstairs with his luggage. Skye knew Elena and Damon were going on a road trip, but she didn't know what for. They wouldn't share.

'You hear from Klaus yet?' Damon inquired Stefan. Skye tensed at her brother's name.

'Not yet. I'm sure I will soon though,' Stefan replied as he took a hold of the stake.

'He's expecting me to deliver two stakes, I only have one.'

Damon leaned against the table, 'Well, that's gonna be disappointing for him.'

Stefan nodded and turned towards Damon, 'I'll get it out of Alaric. I just need some time.'

Damon grinned at his brother, 'I like your confidence, Stefan. I don't share it, but I like it.'

Stefan narrowed his eyes at Damon, and Skye looked away. She hated intruding family talks.

'You don't think I got what it takes,' Stefan realized.

'Well, you're good Stefan again. You're in control. And somehow I don't think sweet little Barbie here has what it takes either.'

This time Skye narrowed her eyes and was about to protest that she wasn't a Barbie, because let's be honest; she really didn't get what it took, but Damon kept talking.

'Sorry, you might get the girl but you lose the edge. Speaking of...' That's when Elena walked in, holding a blood bag.

A relieved sigh escaped the blonde girl as she stood up to take the blood bag.

The urge to just rip open the bag and drink the sweet thick blood here before them was huge, but she held it back.

'Have you ever flown first class?' Damon questioned the doe-eyed girl Elena.

She narrowed said eyes at him, 'Who did you have to compel for that?'

Damon mockingly held his hands over his heart, 'You think that low of me?' Elena rolled her eyes as Damon smirked. 'Pft, please. I use miles'

He gave them one last grin and a wink, before he picked up his luggage and walked out the door.

'Don't let Skye kill you!' He yelled over his shoulder.

The person in question huffed and dropped herself down on the chair once again.

When Damon was out of ear shot, Elena looked at Stefan and opened her mouth to say something, but Stefan cut her off, 'Be safe.'

Elena closed her mouth and looked a little hurt, but turned to Skye.

'Bye,' the girl said to her awkwardly.

Skye nodded and smiled while playing with the straw of the blood bag. 'Good luck, with whatever it is you are going to do.'

Elena smiled at her apologetically, but then walked out of the door after Damon.

They were silent for a while before Stefan pointed down, 'Uh-'

Skye nodded and made a motion for him to go. He studied her for a moment, probably looking if she wasn't planning on doing something, and then nodded and left the room.

Skye her eyes fell to the blood bag in her hand and after a deep breath she teared it open and started drinking.

The cold liquid streamed down her throat, lessening the burn, and a small moan left her mouth.

She sucked the blood greedily out of the bag as she felt the veins under her eyes pop.

She banned the thoughts of her being a monster to the back of her mind.

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this piece five years ago when my grasp on English wasn't particularly well developed and neither were my general writing skills. I've tried to edit my work over the years, but there will probably still be some mistakes to be found. Please forgive me for that. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy the story and Skye Mikaelson just as much as I enjoyed creating it and her! 
> 
> Love,  
> Kiki


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